In front of thousands of people and against some tough musical competitors, Noel Kunz was voted by 4 judges ast the best performance at Kollaboration 11's annual show at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live.  This amazing venue hosted some talented performers on Saturday November 5th, 2011 including the headliner Korean Pop Star G.NA (Gina Choi.)  But even with such talented musicans competiting such as Lions Ambitoin, Inch Chua, Emanon Dance Crew, Monsters Calling Home, Afterschoolspecial, Andrew Figueroa Chiang and the Blazing Rays of the Sun, and Dawen, Noel Kunz jumped to his trophy win and prize of $1000!!

Now you might be wondering what dows Noez Kunz do if he doesn't sing.  Well check out his videos here and you'll see why his talents won him the trophy on Saturday.  Noel also also won Kollaboration Tulsa in 2010 so he's no stranger to the Kollaboration Spotlight.   Yo-Yo Wiki and all, Congratulations to Noel Kunz for an awesome win!

More Photos of the show to come so stay tuned.  Or visit Kollaboration's website to stay updated at http://www.kollaboration.org

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Kollaboration Acoustic 5 has come and gone again with another amazing event with very talented performers.  On June 17, 2011, performers like Alexa Yoshimoto, Jason Yano, Ensemble Memo, Chrizle, Teesa, Lindsey Yung, Nessa Rica, Tranley, and The Mood Junkies all sang, played, and performed their hearts out.   Also guest comedian KT Tatara laughed up the stage along with an amazing special guest headliner of Priscilla Ahn.  Priscilla also met with VIP ticket holders earlier for photos and signatures.  Check out her famed song, "Dream", here.  But with only one winner selected by a panel of 4 judges, Tranley, or Richard Tran, came out victorious and took home the trophy.  To learn more about him watch his Kollaboration video here and check out his myspace music link here.

Congrats and stay tuned for more photos from the event as well as more links to all the great performers.

Date: Friday, June 17, 2011
Time: 8:30PM (Doors Open 6:30PM)
Venue: Ford Amphitheatre
2580 Cahuenga Blvd, East, Hollywood, CA 90068
Ticket Prices:
$20 General Admission, $30 VIP Admission (preferred seating)

VIP Incentives:
*VIP Preferred Seating
*Meet & Greet opportunity with Priscilla Ahn **

**VIP Meet & Greet with Priscilla Ahn will approximately start at 6:30PM inside the Ford Amphitheatre.

Open Seating

Competitors:
Alexa Yoshimoto
Chrizle
Ensemble Memo
Jason Yano
Lindsey Yung
The Mood Junkies
Nessa Rica
Teesa
Tranley

Guest Performer:
Priscilla Ahn

Guest Comedian:
KT Tatara

As many of you know, I photographed the 10th annual Kollaboration performance at the Shrine Auditorium on March 6th, 2010.  With a packed house, many amazing performers, this was an event not to be missed.  If you like music, dancing, singing, and comedy, you'd be a fool to miss next years show.  Check out www.kollaboration.org for more information!!!  The Korean American Journal did a nice 2 page spread on the event and featured my photos for the article.  Check out KoreAm's website at www.iamkoream.com and stay tuned for the May issue where one of my photographs will appear as the cover.  Black ANBU Ops, Jason Yang, PrePix, and Clara Chung were just a few of the photos chosen to appear in this April's edition.  Please click on their names for their respective websites and talented portfolios.

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Every once in a while, you get involved with an non-profit organization that you can't speak highly enough about.  Kollaboration was that organization for me.  Started in 2000, Kollaboration was a small show held at the USC Bovard Theatre with only a few hundred attendees.  Today, 6300 people rush for tickets to the Shrine Auditorium to get a chance to see some big names in entertainment for their 10th annual show.  Primarily started as a Korean American organization, it has since branched out to become a Asian Pacific Island (API) Organization with people helping out from communities and cultures from around the world.  This year, marks their first time that 10 cities will be hosting their own events including Atlanta, Toronto, San Francisco, Houston, Tulsa, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.  Videos from past events have popped up on Youtube and other video viral websites with combined views of over 20 MILLION times.  These talented performers have broken through into the industry and some might even say they owe it all to Kollaboration.

With dancers, singers, musicians, and comedians all competing and performing, Kollaboration is always a hit no matter who's on the list.  Some past performers have included Boa, David Elsewhere, Fanny Pak, Kaba Modern, Jane Lui, Paul Dateh, Team Milenia, Jo Koy, Quest, Roscoe Umali, Colby O'Donis, Darren Carter, Kevin Shea, and many more. 

For Kollaboration 10, the performances were amazing as always.  Bhangra Empire danced a colorful and fun Bollywood routine.  Sam Hart sang his funny and original Mario Kart love song which has been viewed on YouTube over 4 Million times. Paul Jisung Kim beatboxed and looped his vocals with an amazed crowd staring and cheering on. Clara sang a wonderful piece and played guitar with beauty and grace.  Jason Yang played his unique soundless electric violin, as electronic beats played in the background as the crowd clapped along.  Other competitors included Will Volume on guitar and vocals as well as Mike & Alfa on guitar and vocals, both with equally talented performances.  Mixed into this talented list, other special guest performers entertained the packed crowd like comedian Rex Navarrete, dancers from America's Best Dance Crew We Are Hereos, the Dancers of Prepix from Korea, Hip Hop artist Pigeon John, R&B singer and New York Kollaboration winner Vudoo Soul opened the night to screams and cheers.  A funny film by Just Kidding Films played on the big screen and Oprah Winfrey Show winner Abraham McDonald sang loud as his dream of performing at the Shrine came true.  Also towards the end of the show, ANBU Black Ops dancers performed an amazing story telling dance routine with perfectly choreographed music and style.  The guest judges of Kev Jumba, Rex Lee, Joesph Kahn, Lisa Ling, Michelle Phan, Nita Song, and Patty Yoon were in for a challenge.  But at the top of the list, Clara's singing and guitar playing rose to the top as Kollaboration 10's big $2000 winner.  Runner up was Bhangra Empire's amazing dancers taking home $1000 and Verizon's Viewers choice award went to the Violin playing of Jason Yang.  An eventful night as things headed into the afterparty where Jinro Soju and Hite beer were given out for free until Midnight.

Also announced was creator Paul "PK" Kim's decision to step down from Kollaboration's Executive Director position this year to focus more on his stand up comedy career.  With a sad but accomplished decision, a final video of fond farewells and appreciation went out to PK from just a small sample of people he's helped over the years.  PK will greatly be missed as his inspiration and dedication to the Asian Entertainment community is 2nd to none.  PK has inspired many people to follow their dreams.  Myself included, as he has even helped me advance in my photography career outside of wedding photography.  Without his connection to KoreAm journal, I would have never had gotten a subscription, known about their cover Contest, and would have never entered and won my first published Magazine Cover.  Thank you PK for helping me to connect with my community more.

And thank you to the hard working staff of Kollaboration.  Christine's full time efforts and Roy's leadership are also a HUGE part in the success of Kollaboration.  That with the tons of volunteers that help out for every show, makes Kollaboation a proven fact that the Asian American community is there to support each other.  With that, new friends and connections have been made, which makes joining Kollaboration a recommended activity for all.  Congrats to the staff and performers of Kollaboration 10!!!

With 10 years of outstanding entertainment, Kollaboration 10 started with a bang at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.  5000 fans came to watch the amazing singers, dancers, musicians, and comedians perform for the top prize of $2000, with $1000 2nd place and a $1000 Verizon viewers choice award.  With talented performances by all, Clara Chung came out victorious, voted by the celebrity judges of Lisa Ling, Kev Jumba, Patty Yoon, Michelle Phan, and more!!

Kollaboration is a non-profit organization that holds an annual event and movement produced by young Asian and Pacific Islander professionals and students, volunteering their time and skills to celebrate the vast talents of their community and hopefully bring them into the mainstream.  Currently there are 10 nationwide Kollaboration shows from New York to Seattle as well as including other cities such as Tulsa, Houston, and Atlanta.

For more information please check out www.kollaboration.org.

Congratulations Clara Chung!!!

More photos to come....