Institute for Community Research Farewell Event for Lynne Williamson
SubjectPortrait of
Manola Sidara
(Laotian)
SubjectPortrait of
Nancy Sayarath
(Laotian)
SubjectPortrait of
John Whelan
(Irish)
SubjectPortrait of
Louise Whelan
Date2015 June
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.846.1-.2
DescriptionTwo photographs of the Institute for Community Research Farewell Event for Lynne Williamson in June 2015.
(.1) Photograph of Irish accordion player, John Whelan, and fiddle player, Louise Whelan, performing inside of East-West Grille located at 526 New Park Avenue, West Hartford.
(.2) Photograph of Lao dancer Nancy Sayarath with Manola Sidara inside of East-West Grille preparing for Nancy's performance.
NotesBiographical Note: A master of the button accordion, John was raised in the Irish community of Dunstable, England. At age 14, after winning several accordion championships, he recorded his first album “Pride of Wexford” in honor of his father. John moved to the United States in 1980, and began performing with Eileen Ivers as well as recording with many Celtic musicians and playing all over New England including often at the Boston Comhaltas Society and at Irish clubs in Connecticut. He formed the John Whelan Band in 1997, performing at many folk festivals here in the U.S. and internationally. He appeared as part of the “Once Upon an Accordion” tour and in several films. Altogether John has won seven All-Ireland Accordion championships, and was named Traditionalist of the Year in 1998 by Irish Echo magazine. His album “Come to Dance” was recorded live in John’s hometown church, St. Gabriel’s, in Milford, Connecticut. Some of the hallmarks of his playing style include straight ahead music, solid rhythm and very little embellishment, allowing the traditional melodies to express themselves through the dance. In his recordings John would play like a live session with “no fixes, no second chances, no overdubs, everything is as live as it can be. Sometimes I would check the tracks by dancing to them.” John moved to Washington state where he works as a skilled carpenter and continues to play accordion. His latest album (2020), “Passage of Time” contains 33 of his original compositions. He teaches, performs, holds sessions, and joins with other well-known Irish music legends through the Zoom platform.(.1) Photograph of Irish accordion player, John Whelan, and fiddle player, Louise Whelan, performing inside of East-West Grille located at 526 New Park Avenue, West Hartford.
(.2) Photograph of Lao dancer Nancy Sayarath with Manola Sidara inside of East-West Grille preparing for Nancy's performance.
Biographical Note: Manola Sidara is a Lao dance educator and community activist whose life has been devoted to serving her community. Born in 1969 in Vientiane, Laos, Manola joined the National Dance School at the age of five, along with her sister. After her family fled Laos, she continued learning traditional dance with master dancer Sone Norasing in Colorado until moving to Connecticut in 1989. From her grandmother and aunts Manola learned to make pah khuane, the ornaments of bamboo leaves and flowers which are part of every Lao ceremony and celebration in both temple and home. She worked as a wedding consultant, organizing all the arrangements for traditional Lao weddings, and became known as a brilliant cake decorator. Manola helped to produce the exhibit The Ties That Bind: Southeast Asian Wedding Traditions at the Institute for Community Research (ICR) in 1995. In 1999-2000 she served as the Bilingual Program Assistant at Garfield School in Bridgeport, teaching ESOL, computers, and cultural awareness to elementary school children both Lao and Latino. Manola taught traditional dance at the Lao Saturday School in New Britain from its inception. With her high-school age students from the school, Manola formed the Lao Narthasin Dance Troupe, instructing the members in classical Laotian dance, folk dances of different ethnic groups in Laos, and traditional values and manners such as respectful behavior, honoring elders, and service to the family and community. The dance group, which has performed throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island at cultural centers and Lao temples, now includes a third generation of dancers. From 1998 to 2001 Manola was the New Britain Coordinator for the Urban Artists Initiative, a statewide training program run by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the Institute for Community Research. In 2001 Manola received an award from the Lao Association of CT at New Year for her work with the Lao Narthasin dancers and was selected as a CT Commission on the Arts Master Teaching Artist. In 2011 Manola coordinated the community oral history project After the Trauma: Holocaust Survivors and Laotian Refugees Confront the Past, displayed at the University of Hartford. Manola is also known as a master chef at East West Grille, her award-winning and beloved Lao-Thai restaurant on New Park Avenue in Hartford from 2000-2019, and the East-West Grille Food Truck. Manola is very active in assisting the Lao Temple in Morris, CT, with cultural programming, social service, and providing food for the monks and their ceremonies. For Manola, her tireless activities in dance, education, ceremonial decorations, and cooking all promote wellness, spirituality, bonding, and healing.
Biographical Note: Lao Narthasin of Connecticut is a group of young Lao-Americans who study and perform traditional folk and classical dances from the southeast Asian country of Laos. Most of these dancers were born in the United States to parents who immigrated here from Laos. They study Lao language and culture in special classes offered by the organization Lao-American Culture of Connecticut in cities such as New Britain, East Hartford, and Bridgeport where many Lao are now living. The Lao Narthasin dance group developed out of the Lao community's desire to preserve its heritage in America. Members of the company, who reside in cities throughout Connecticut, are trained by experienced instructors from notable Lao dance families. The founder of the group, Manola Sidara, is a Lao dance educator and community activist whose life has been devoted to serving her community. Born in 1969 in Vientiane, Laos, Manola joined the National Dance School at the age of five, along with her sister. After her family fled Laos, she continued learning traditional dance with master dancer Sone Norasing in Colorado until moving to Connecticut in 1989. Lao Narthasin now includes a third generation of dancers, and instructors include former students such as dancer Nancy Sayarath. Dance traditions in Laos are either classical, performed at the royal palace, or based in the rural folk cultures of the over sixty ethnic groups in Laos. Lao Narthasin performs both dance genres. Dances include the Hoyn Phon Yhia Welcome Dance where fresh flowers are offered to guests, and the Pow Lao Dance, featuring dancers from different tribal groups. The graceful movements made by the dancers reflect qualities of beauty, respect, and politeness so valued in Laotian culture. Hand gestures also tell stories in the dances, with subtle movements symbolic of spiritual beings such as deities ascending in the heavens. Many of the dances celebrate community festivals - the rice harvest, water festival, New Year, or the Fireworks Festival bringing prosperity and good fortune. Lao Narthasin wears many different authentic costumes appropriate to each special dance. The group often performs at festivals and ceremonies at temples in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Biographical Note: Lynne Williamson was the second director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP), serving from 1993-2018.
Additional audio, video, and photographic materials exist in the archive relating to these artists.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
