Name Dawn Moon Siblings Benajmin Moon Movies Motivational Growth | Role Singer-songwriter | |
Dawn xiana moon trio live at the viaduct theatre three kingdoms
Dawn Xiana Moon (born August 27, 1983, Singapore) is a Chinese American singer-songwriter and bellydancer based in Chicago, Illinois. She is notable for being the first musician to blend traditional Chinese music with Americana, pop, and jazz. Moon is also the producer/director of Raks Geek, the first bellydance and fire company of its kind.
Contents
- Dawn xiana moon trio live at the viaduct theatre three kingdoms
- Dawn xiana moon self destructive if i ran away
- Early life
- Music
- Dance
- Trivia
- References
She is listed as a musician in the Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife and Southern Connecticut State University's list of famous Chinese-Americans.
Dawn xiana moon self destructive if i ran away
Early life
Born in Singapore, Moon began studying classical piano at the age 5, the same year her family moved to the United States. She grew up in Michigan, just outside of Detroit. Throughout high school, she earned recognition at regional competitions for piano, flute and voice. But it wasn't until her freshman year at the University of Michigan that she left classical music and started playing the guitar. Two months later, she began writing songs. She moved to Chicago and began collaborating on projects ranging from a commissioned piece for Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre to independent films.
Music
Moon's musical style draws influences ranging from traditional Chinese music to modern American folk, from jazz to pop, from minimalism to Americana; she strives to bridge the musical traditions of the East and West. Her work incorporates traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng and erhu; she is also noted for singing in three languages: English, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife notes that for Moon and others like her, influences from Western classical music can be traced back to early Chinese court orchestras.
The combination of Eastern and Western influences has garnered acclaim in Asia., which sees the music as bringing cultural traditions into the future.
Dance
Moon's early dance training came from lindy hop and blues; she fell into tribal bellydance almost on accident. Raks Geek was the first dance company to combine professional bellydancers and firespinners with geek themes, and they became notable after a video of a live performance (a Wookiee bellydancing to a Klingon band playing an original song in Shyriiwook went viral on YouTube. Moon formed the company after a late-night internet search for "geek bellydance"; she was disappointed by the artistic and technical proficiency of examples she found. As she was already a professional dancer, she decided to do the topic justice by creating a show by geeks, for geeks (Moon has given talks at C2E2, the University of Chicago, and Chicago Comic Con on issues surrounding women in geek culture, and other members of the group are scientists and organize Chicago geek community gatherings).
Trivia
Dawn has acting credits in three independent films: Weapon (2011), Detroit Unleaded (2012), and Motivational Growth (2013).
Although Moon was born in Singapore, she is a naturalized US citizen.