CELEBRATING 250 YEARS TOGETHER**
A Nationwide America250 Initiative
Presented by the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA).
In partnership with United Asian-Americans (UCA) and participating community organizations nationwide.
OVERVIEW
Through one of the most vibrant and recognizable traditions of Asian-American community life, Lion Dance Across America celebrates America’s 250th anniversary by bringing people together to participate in their hometown parades, deepening connections through our sense of community, shared traditions, local history and stories.
Lion dancing and dragons are much more than a performance, they are an ancient art of expression, traditions, and symbolism. Through movement, music, athleticism, artistry, and teamwork this enjoyable experience illuminates minds and brings people together for a memorable occasion. This year, dragons and lion dance teams will bring civic engagement to our Independence Day celebrations, parades, festivals, and community gatherings from coast to coast.
FAST FACTS
- Nationwide America250 initiative
- Dragon and Lion dance teams participating in Independence Day celebrations from coast to coast
- Communities discovering local Asian-American histories and stories of their contributions
FEATURED NATIONAL STORIES
One of the central themes of Lion Dance Across America is a simple but often overlooked truth: Chinese Americans have been celebrating America’s Independence Day for generations.
Historical records document Chinese participation in Fourth of July celebrations dating back to at least 1852 in San Francisco, California; 1888 in Deadwood, South Dakota; 1908 in Red Bluff, California; and 1911 in New York City. Across the country—from Alaska to Texas and within some of the nation’s oldest and most iconic Independence Day traditions—communities are rediscovering their local history and stories that demonstrate the longstanding participation of Chinese Americans in American civic life.
The following stories illustrate how local history, community traditions, and America’s 250th anniversary come together through Lion Dance Across America.
Deadwood, South Dakota
Historical records show Chinese residents were celebrating Independence Day alongside their neighbors in Deadwood in the 1880s—demonstrating that Asian-American participation in America’s civic traditions reaches far beyond the major coastal cities most people associate with Asian-American history.
Nearly 140 years later, lion dancers return to Deadwood as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Special patriotic red-white-and-blue lion and dragon costumes have been created specifically for America250 celebrations.
These vibrant designs create one of the campaign’s most striking visual symbols, bringing together tradition, patriotism, and celebration.
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Red Bluff, California
For the July Fourth parade in 1908, Red Bluff’s Chinatown was invited by the town to participate which they gladly accepted. After a $2,000 insurance bond was placed for Moo Lung to travel from Marysville on a train to Red Bluff, the town was buzzing to see the Dragon arrive. For Red Bluff it was a spectacle unlike anything they had ever seen before. The legendary Chinese dragon Moo Lung appeared in the city’s Independence Day parade, symbolizing the Chinese communities’ welcomed contributions, pride, and cultural heritage of Red Bluff’s Chinese American community. For America’s 250th birthday and after 118 years, the community of Tehama County will once again witness a dragon in its July Fourth parade as a powerful reminder of the town embracing its shared heritage.
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All Saints Lion Dance Team: Building Community Through Culture in Wichita, Kansas
The All Saints Lion Dance Team came together in 2023, formed by members from other local teams who had encountered barriers within their previous groups. From the start, the team set out to be something different: open, welcoming, and rooted in a genuine love for the art.
For Long Nguyen, the team’s leader, lion dance began in high school as a way to connect with culture and community. He got his start with East High Lion Dance, where he first picked up the skills and developed a passion that has never left him. He eventually became president of the club, and more than a decade later, lion dance remains one of the central forces in his life.
“It has been an outlet,” he says. “It formed a huge community. Some of my closest friends are on the team or part of the lion dance community.”
For Nguyen and his team, lion dance is about more than performance.
“Anyone can do it and is welcome,” he says. “We want people to try it out and participate in our culture.”
The team offers free classes and has deliberately kept membership open to everyone, regardless of background. That openness is not incidental but intentional. The team includes non-Asian members, and Nguyen is direct about why.
“America was once segregated,” he says, “and we don’t want to continue that. Our team should be a reflection of what America can be, and lion dance is for everyone.”
Performing lion dance in the Midwest carries its own significance. Asian representation in Wichita has historically been minimal, and Nguyen is aware of what it means to show up with a lion dance team in that context. Much of the local lion dance community is Vietnamese American, and many practitioners are self-taught. Many learned the art on their own, finding connection and instruction through technology and networks that stretch far beyond Kansas. Seeing the tradition spread to more than 40 states across the country gives Nguyen real satisfaction.
“It is nice to see that it is booming and being preserved,” he says.
For Nguyen, the Fourth of July is the perfect stage for lion dance. It is a celebration of what America is at its best, and lion dance, with its deep roots and broad reach, belongs right there.
Even as lion dance has taken a physical toll after more than 10 years of practice, what keeps Nguyen going is the community he has built and the growth he witnesses in his team.
“The joy and mindfulness it brings me is seeing the joy and the growth of my team, and how we are all a family. Even when things are not going our way or when times are tough, we are a tiny group, and we do it because we love it.”
One of the team’s most memorable recurring performances is their showcase at Magdalene, a Vietnamese Catholic church in Wichita.
“The crowd there is amazing because they know what lion dance is,” Nguyen says. “It is a full-show performance.”
That kind of moment captures everything the All Saints Lion Dance Team is about: culture, community, and the joy of sharing something meaningful with people who truly receive it.
The All Saints Lion Dance Team’s participation in the Fourth of July parade as part of Lion Dance Across America, an initiative by the Chinese Historical Society of America celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, reflects what Nguyen has believed from the beginning: that lion dance belongs everywhere and that every community it touches is richer for it.
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Rhode Island Kung Fu Club: Keeping Culture Alive in the Ocean State
The Rhode Island Kung Fu Club began when Luyi Shao moved from Washington, D.C., to Rhode Island and started teaching lion dance under the umbrella of a local Chinese society. Teaching primarily youth, the team has kept going entirely through volunteers for the past 20 years, growing from a personal effort to stay connected to his heritage into a community institution.
For Shao, lion dance is fundamentally about generating and sharing positive energy.
“We have to generate it for ourselves,” he says, “and we put an emphasis on showing our culture to people who are not familiar with lion dance.”
The goal is to find a common bond through the performance, regardless of background. For Asian-American audiences, the intention runs even deeper: to bring good luck, ward off negative energy, and ensure that the tradition is carried out with care and respect.
For Shao, identity and participation go hand in hand.
“We all wear multiple hats, identity-wise,” he says.
Performing lion dance in the United States is not an act of differentiation but of participation, a demonstration that Asian-American traditions carry universal values: positivity, community, and the warding off of negativity.
The spread of lion dance across more than 40 states is something Shao finds deeply encouraging, and within Rhode Island it feels especially meaningful. Asian Americans make up a relatively small share of the state’s population, and seeing their culture represented publicly offers something rare: a sense of community and belonging.
The Bristol parade, one of the nation’s oldest Fourth of July celebrations, holds particular significance for Shao.
“There is more than one way to do America,” he says. “It does not have to be hot dogs and red, white, and blue floats. It can also be lion dance.”
For him, the parade is proof that American identity is wide enough to hold all of its people.
Lion dance is also a living link between generations. Learning lion dance is a way to stay connected to family, to countries of origin, and to a cultural lineage that might otherwise fade.
“If you learn it well and you can teach it,” Shao says, “you become a link in sharing this culture.”
When audiences grow curious and begin asking questions, those conversations open doors into broader discussions about culture, heritage, and history.
For Shao, lion dance is as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
“You can plan,” Shao says, “but there will always be unpredictable things.”
In performance, the joy comes from what the dance gives to others.
“When you see a bride and groom happy at their wedding, and you know that you brought that joy and positivity, it means something,” he says.
The Club views its performances as community service, appearing at Lunar New Year celebrations, senior centers, weddings, and cultural festivals throughout the year.
The Rhode Island Kung Fu Club’s participation in the Bristol Fourth of July parade signifies an enduring truth for Shao: that there is more than one way to be American.
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Kuna Kung Fu: Lion Dance as a Living Practice in Boise, Idaho
Kuna Kung Fu traces its origins to the Hung-Ga International Kung Fu Association, founded under the influence of Grandmaster Frank Yee. Lion dance was taught as part of a holistic approach to martial arts and quickly became an integral part of Kuna Kung Fu’s identity.
For Kyle Wooten, the school’s instructor and military veteran, lion dance is inseparable from the broader values of kung fu.
“There is no perfection in kung fu,” Wooten says. “It is the diligence, what you practice, how you practice, and where you are going with the practice. Beyond kung fu, it bleeds into all of life.”
That philosophy shapes everything Wooten teaches. A properly performed lion dance, he explains, does more than showcase technical skill. It generates energy.
“If lion dance is performed properly, it should instill vibrant, positive energy,” he says. “The strength of the lion and the performers should bring extra goodness to those who watch.”
For Wooten, teaching lion dance is an extension of his responsibility as an instructor, a way to bring more positive energy and goodness to his students and the wider community around them.
Civic participation holds particular meaning for Wooten. As a veteran, he understands firsthand what it means to show up for your country, and he sees performing in a Fourth of July parade as an expression of that same spirit.
“The fact that people can show their spirit and have their voices heard is vital,” he says. “Different cultures are all part of what America is.”
As a non-Asian practitioner, Wooten is deeply aware of the responsibility that comes with practicing this tradition.
No members of the Kuna Kung Fu team have Asian heritage, yet lion dance has become central to who they are. What initially draws students in is the kung fu itself—the training, the discipline, the physical challenge. But something shifts when they perform. Watching audiences respond, speaking with people afterward, and seeing how the dance brings people together in joy become turning points.
Wooten sees lion dance as a natural bridge between cultures precisely because it asks nothing more of its audience than openness.
“A glimpse into a culture we are not born into is an opportunity to learn more about other people and to see the commonalities,” he says. “We all want a happy and peaceful life.”
Over years of performing, he has built connections with Chinese and Vietnamese organizations in his community and watched lion dance extend its reach well beyond the families and communities where it originated, bringing joy to people who may never have encountered it before.
The school’s growing reach is reflected in its performances. Highlights include an anniversary celebration of Bruce Lee, where multiple kung fu schools gathered to perform together, and a trip to China, during which the team performed with other schools and teams.
Kuna Kung Fu’s participation in the Fourth of July parade as part of Lion Dance Across America is a fitting expression of everything Wooten believes lion dance represents.
“We are celebrating freedom and community,” he says, “and what it means to lead happy lives and celebrate the things that make our communities vibrant and strong. It is not strange to add lion dance to a Fourth of July parade.”
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Los Angeles Kun Seng Keng: Keeping the Art Form Alive and Evolving
Roger Look was two years old when he first encountered lion dance, watching performers bless a store opening. When he was older, his father enrolled him in kung fu classes, and lion dance followed.
“Back then, lion dancing wasn’t a standalone practice,” Look explains. “You would learn kung fu first and then lion dance.”
Today, Look is CEO and Head Coach of Los Angeles Kun Seng Keng, a branch of the team he founded at UC San Diego in 2009 called San Diego Southern Sea, now an independent nonprofit organization. The Los Angeles branch, launched in 2024, is already breaking new ground. It is among the first teams in the United States to embrace a more modern style of lion dance and will be the first to feature an all-female head-and-tail pair.
For Look, lion dance is a form of self-expression, a way to stay physically active, and a direct connection to the heritage he proudly carries as a Chinese American.
“This art form is relevant in today’s age,” he says.
With lion dance now practiced in more than 40 states, Look sees evidence that people are no longer simply watching from the sidelines—they are actively choosing to participate.
He also recognizes the broader cultural significance of lion dance in America. Chinese Americans, he notes, have made enormous contributions to building this nation, yet those stories are rarely told with the depth they deserve. Lion dance offers one way to change that.
“It’s a way to remind Americans of the contributions of Chinese Americans through this art form,” he says.
For Look, every performance becomes a conversation starter, inviting audiences to ask about the history, symbolism, and traditions behind the dance while showcasing values deeply embedded in the practice: discipline, teamwork, respect, and community.
Those values resonate well beyond the Chinese-American community. For many non-Asian members, lion dance begins as a social introduction through friends before growing into something far more meaningful. The relationships built through training, shared meals, and performances create a strong sense of belonging. Look believes that for those who embrace lion dance outside its cultural origins, approaching it with dedication and respect is essential.
The art form is equally demanding physically. Every performance requires complete focus, strength, and endurance. The adrenaline of performing under pressure, the discipline of preparation, and the satisfaction of accomplishing something genuinely difficult help build confidence and resilience that extend far beyond the dance itself.
Los Angeles Kun Seng Keng’s participation in the Fourth of July parade reflects what Look has always believed: sharing culture is vital to America and a core American value.
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Tai Look Lion Dance Team: Keeping the Culture Alive in New York City
The Tai Look Lion Dance Team has been a fixture of New York City’s Chinatown since 2017, though its roots run deeper. The club began in the 1970s as a kung fu school, closed temporarily around 2008, and was revived with the support of the Tai Look Merchants Association. For Patrick Mock, the team’s leader and a Chinese American who grew up in Chinatown, lion dance was never just a performance—it was, in his own words, “a way out of trouble.”
“My mom didn’t want me to lion dance,” Mock recalls. “She thought it was gang culture.”
That impulse to rebel, combined with a deep connection to his heritage, drew him into the tradition and kept him there. Lion dance gave him focus at a time when he could have made very different choices. Today, he hopes audiences walk away with an appreciation for the pride performers carry in their culture and the pure joy the dance brings.
New York City is home to approximately 40 lion dance groups. Performances such as Super Saturday, where lions bless local storefronts, draw multiple generations into the streets. “It’s a family reunion,” Mock says. “Elders and children all come out to celebrate and witness the dance.” In a city increasingly shaped by gentrification, lion dance serves as a cultural anchor, giving residents a lasting sense of community and place.
For Mock, there is no contradiction between celebrating Chinese cultural heritage and the Fourth of July.
“Being American and celebrating the Fourth of July represent the fact that it’s a melting pot,” he says. “The fact that we can celebrate this culture is just what this country is about.”
He sees lion dance as a gateway to broader conversations about Asian-American history, noting that shared cultural experiences—whether through lion dance or even the enjoyment of Chinese food—can open doors to deeper understanding.
The team’s appeal extends beyond the Asian-American community. Non-Asian members are drawn in by the discipline, the shared experience, and the sense of possibility that comes with participation. Mock’s own trajectory illustrates that potential. As a member of former Mayor Bloomberg’s official lion dance team, he performed in settings he never could have anticipated.
“That’s the New York way,” he says, reflecting on how lion dance opened doors to opportunities he never imagined.
On a physical level, lion dance demands full presence. “You become the lion,” Mock explains, “showing the different expressions the lion has.” Performers feed off the energy of the crowd and, at times, draw the audience into the performance. It is a practice that builds confidence, strengthens bonds within the team, and keeps performers active and engaged.
The Tai Look Lion Dance Team’s participation in the Fourth of July parade in New York City as part of Lion Dance Across America, an initiative by the Chinese Historical Society of America celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, is a natural extension of everything Mock believes lion dance represents: heritage, community, pride, and the very foundation of America.
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Lohan School of Shaolin: Lion Dance in the Heart of Las Vegas
The Lohan School of Shaolin, Las Vegas’ first lion dance team was founded in 1994 by the late Steven Baugh, a martial artist of Native American and Mexican descent from South Central Los Angeles. Baugh first encountered Chinese martial arts while growing up, and his dedication to the art form eventually led him to Sifu Eugene Lao, an expert in Choy Li Fut, the martial art closely associated with lion dance. Though Baugh initially faced resistance from some members of the Chinese community who were skeptical of an outsider embracing their tradition, his commitment and respect for the art form eventually won them over. Today, that spirit of perseverance and cultural openness remains central to the school’s identity.
Today, under the leadership of Sifu Lance Brazil, an American of Irish descent, the Lohan School performs three to four events per month, with more than 50 performances during Chinese New Year alone, serving casinos and community events throughout the Las Vegas area.
For Sifu Brazil, lion dance is as much a spiritual tradition as it is a physical one. He often shares the folklore at the heart of the practice. Rooted in Buddhist belief, lion dance traces its spiritual origins to the Tang Dynasty when, according to legend, townspeople created the dance to repel evil spirits and restore positive energy after an emperor suffered a troubling dream.
“Vegas needs lion dance because it’s so hectic,” Brazil says.
The school’s membership reflects the broad appeal of lion dance across cultural backgrounds. For students of Asian heritage, the practice connects them to their cultural roots. For students without Asian heritage, it offers what Brazil describes as a higher pursuit: a discipline centered on focus, spiritual awareness, and the ongoing effort to overcome adversity.
On a physical level, lion dance is both vigorous exercise and moving meditation, helping performers channel and release energy while entering a state of heightened focus and mindfulness. For Brazil, it is also a livelihood and a privilege that sustains both the school and the broader community it serves.
As lion dance expands across more than 40 states, Brazil is grateful that the tradition continues to grow and is no longer as closely guarded as it once was. The Lohan School’s participation in the Deadwood parade continues a documented history of Asian-American participation in Fourth of July celebrations stretching back more than 170 years. For Brazil, performing at such an event reflects a core American value: that people of every background can bring their cultural heritage to the table while finding common purpose in the shared experience of being American.
MEDIA ASSETS AVAILABLE
Photography
- Bristol Fourth of July Parade
- Historic Deadwood imagery
- America250 lion costumes
- America250 dragon costumes
- Participating community events
- Lion Dance Team photos
Video
- Lion dance performances
- Interviews
- Community celebrations
- Historical storytelling segments
Additional Materials
Media kit
Download here.
Contact:
David Lei
davd@leifamily.com
415-816-4594
