Friendship Concert to Commemorate 26th Anniversary of L.A. Riots

TAP (The Artists’ Platform) and FACE (Faith and Community Empowerment) present “The Friendship Concert III: Unity in Diversity” on Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.

The concert commemorates the 26th anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots by promoting themes of tolerance, diversity, and love. This special concert strives to showcase an eclectic array of artistic talents from Los Angeles’ diverse communities.

Along with a show filled with diverse local talent, junior high and high school students entered a competition through poetry and works of visual art as part of their studies learning and reflecting about the tragic historical event. This year, Young Oak Kim Academy and Flintridge Preparatory School are among the participating schools. Student submissions will be considered for recognition and cash awards and selected visual entries will be included in the concert.

The lineup:

• Houman Pourmehdi (daf frame drum)

• Reach Sisters (contemporary dance piece)

• Celeste Lanuza (Mexican/fusion choreography with live music)

• James Mahkween (African/fusion work)

• Instrumental duo from USC doctorate department playing an original composition by Michael Kim-Sheng, an emerging composer

• Juli Kim (Korean classical/fusion dance)

• Tashara and Queala from Lula Washington Dance Company

• Los Angeles Children’s Community Youth Choir led by Sun Joo Yeo

• The Flintridge Singers directed by Steve Hill

• Artist Entrance Dance Company premiering “Trajectory”

• Paco & Yolanda flamenco juxtaposed with Korean five-drum dance, then with L.A. Yatai Bayashi Kai taiko drum finale

Tickets are $10 and are available at www.eventbrite.com. For more information, email juli@tap.place or visit www.tap.place or www.facebook.com/TheArtistsPlatform.

FACE, formerly KCCD, is a nonprofit, faith-based organization that serves as a bridge between the Asian American community and the greater community at large. It works towards connecting and creating private and public collaborations with a mission to advance the Asian American community’s participation, contribution, and influence through faith-based and community partnerships.

TAP seeks to empower all artists through providing a platform for performance and expression.