With the support from the California Arts Council, GREAT LEAP INC. will inspire and gather Latino, Japanese American and African American community members young and old for the 6th annual FandangObon (FO) Festival, Oct. 7, 2018, a fun, accessible, public celebration at JACCC in Downtown LA’s historic Little Tokyo, preceded by a retreat for FO artists and 8 artist-led workshops/gatherings across the region to share traditions-rooted participatory FO music/dance/storytelling. Free!
Great Leap (GL) collaborates with professional artists of color to create NEW WORKS that give voice to stories and concerns of our communities. It forges ways of COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT in theater, music and dance, including the creation of Buddhist Obon songs, danced by thousands each Obon season. GL produces yearly the FANDANGOBON PROJECT, with community workshops and an eco-arts fest. We present PERFORMANCES, WORKSHOPS and LECTURES in schools, universities and communities. Our master artists TEACH at the National Institute For Directing & Ensemble Creation, and internationally at the Saigon Film Institute. Our PERMANENT WORKS include music albums and music videos. Most recently, Smithsonian Folkways is producing a double album with music from GL’s archives, and new songs by Nobuko, preserving our work in perpetuity. At our 40th year, we began the GL DIGITAL ARCHIVES, now with guidance by UCLA, to make our philosophy, materials and videos accessible to next generation artists, scholars, and communities.

