Nobuko Miyamoto (Founder & Artistic Director) is a performing artist who has had a defining influence on the shape and content of contemporary Asian American arts and culture. Originally a dancer with stage and film credits, Miyamoto’s involvement in the social movements of the 1960s led her to re-conceptualize her role as an artist. Her performances, musicals and albums probe themes of Asian American history, identity and the intersection of cultures. She founded Great Leap in 1978, and her recent work includes “Collaboratory,” a series of innovative community residencies that gathers diverse groups of artists and community residents for story gatherings and performances and “What Can A Song Do?” a solo-performance piece that explores the evolution of voice and the creation of community. Miyamoto oversees all aspects of Great Leap’s operations, supervises staff and provides creative direction to Great Leap’s community of artists.

Dan Kwong (Project Director – “Collaboratory”) is an award-winning multimedia performance artist, playwright, visual artist and teacher who has been presenting his solo work nationally and internationally since 1989. His works combine personal narrative with historical context to explore the many facets of social identity. His book, From Inner Worlds to Outer Space: The Multimedia Performances of Dan Kwong (University of Michigan Press) was published in 2004, and the significance of his work has been noted in A History of Asian American Theatre (Cambridge Univ. Press). He has been affiliated with Great Leap since 1990 where he manages and performs in “A Slice of Rice, Frijoles and Greens” and is the founding Project Director of “COLLABORATORY.”

Corazon Rios (Manager) is a 2003 graduate of UCLA with a BA in World Arts and Cultures. Prior to joining Great Leap in 2008, she worked with Collage Dance Theatre and the Armory Center for the Arts. She is an active community volunteer with the Swap-O-Rama-Rama and Global Inheritance, and she raised over $3,000 for APLA through the AIDS Marathon Program. In 2010 she will be Great Leap’s marathoner in the Los Angeles Marathon. Rios oversees Great Leap’s booking and marketing efforts—including designing media and print materials for marketing and promotional purpose, managing our Internet presence, and supporting the work of our Development Coordinator.

Dora Quach (Administrative Assistant) is a 2008 graduate of UCSD with a BA in Art History & Criticism. She comes to Great Leap after serving as the Special Events Coordinator for the Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Los Angeles. While in college she was as an officer in the UCSC chapter of Colleges Against Cancer. Quach is fluent in Italian and Chinese (Cantonese). At Great Leap she supports the work of the Artistic Director, manages the books, and serves as Production Assistant for “Collaboratory."

Updated: 06/18/09