Born in Singapore, Moon began studying classical piano at the age 5, the same year her family moved to the United States. Though she was born in Asia, English is her first language. She grew up in Michigan, just outside of Detroit. Throughout high school, she earned recognition at regional competitions for piano, flute and voice. But it wasn't until her first year at the University of Michigan that she left classical music and started playing the guitar. Two months later, she began writing songs. She moved to Chicago and began collaborating on projects ranging from a commissioned piece for Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre to independent films.
Music
Moon's musical style draws influences ranging from traditional Chinese music to modern American folk, from jazz to pop, from minimalism to Americana; she strives to bridge the musical traditions of the East and West. Her work incorporates traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng and erhu; she is also noted for singing in three languages: English, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife notes that for Moon and others like her, influences from Western classical music can be traced back to early Chinese court orchestras. She also often writes in odd time signatures like 7/8 and 5/4. The combination of Eastern and Western influences has garnered acclaim in Asia., which sees the music as bringing cultural traditions into the future.
Dance
Moon's early dance training came from lindy hop and blues; she fell into tribal bellydance almost on accident. Moon formed the Raks Geek dance company after a late-night internet search for "geek bellydance"; she was disappointed by the artistic and technical proficiency of examples she found. As she was already a professional dancer, she decided to do the topic justice by creating a show by geeks, for geeks. Once of Moon's missions with Raks Geek is bringing visibility to Asian-Americans in the performing arts – the dance company is majority Asian-American. They also have a strong social justice mission and partner with local non-profits.
Trivia
Dawn has acting credits in three independent films: Weapon, Detroit Unleaded, and Motivational Growth. Although Moon was born in Singapore, she is a naturalized US citizen. Moon is also a published writer – she's written for TechCrunch, Uncanny Magazine, The Learned Fangirl, and more. One of her essays appears in Invisible 3, an anthology about representation in science fiction and fantasy.
