A number of different Great Leap shows have toured the country, including “A Slice of Rice, Frijoles and Greens,” which is performed by three or four artists. Using song, dance, mime, humor and puppetry, the artists illustrate their diverse backgrounds. The show draws 50,000 Los Angeles school district students every year. Another show included Japanese Buddhist monks, Jewish Rabbis and a Black Christian gospel choir. And Miyamoto’s one-woman show “A Grain of Sand,” which combines song, video and monologue, has toured colleges around the country as well.
Most of Great Leap’s productions are the result of teamwork between professional artists and community performers. Through these collaborations, Miyamoto has nurtured new leaders in community art, including an artist who founded one of the first Vietnamese-American theater groups.
Miyamoto has taught classes at the University of California,
Los Angeles. In 2003, she was among 17 people chosen for the Leadership for a Changing World Award by the Ford Foundation.
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