The Baltimore Chinese School is home to a young dragon dance team that shares stories about their heritage
Baltimore's Chinese School is home to a dragon dance team led by some of the region's youngest minds.
Their goal is to perform and tell stories about their heritage so it will live on for generations to come.
WJZ heard from the young dragon dancers during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
A Dragon: A symbol of good fortune
Dulaney High School student Jingwei Lau knows how to keep a dragon in its place.
"A dragon is a symbol of wealth, prosperity, good fortune," said Lau, the president of the Dulaney High School and Baltimore Chinese School dragon dance teams.
Most Sundays, Lau and his dragon team practice at Towson University before classes begin at the Baltimore Chinese School.
"We have classes not only to teach the Chinese language and Chinese culture – we also teach painting, dancing – lots of teams," Lau said. "It is one of our clubs."
Students in third through 12th grades perform the traditional Chinese dragon dance to tell stories of their heritage and culture.
"Especially in this cultural melting pot…in America, to really represent our culture in the area," Lau explained.
The team is led by students and is one of a few in the Baltimore region.
Sharing Chinese culture with Baltimore
"In the past, we never really had a chance to experience this culture in our area, like we don't have a Chinatown in Baltimore, so we would have to go to, like, Philadelphia or D.C.," said Kai Lau, the co-instructor of Dulaney High School and Baltimore Chinese dragon dance teams.
"I felt the need to bring other Chinese people of Chinese heritage together, and I wasn't seeing that very much in our community, so I definitely thought that it was a very good bonding experience to meet other people with the same heritage," Kai Lau said.
At many Lunar New Year celebrations, Chinese dragon dance teams perform a vibrant dance using a long, colorful dragon puppet held up by a team of performers. The dragon's movements are coordinated to stimulate the mythical creature.
"It's not just performing. It's about unity. 10 people get together to reach one goal," said Han Fang Lim, the founder and logistics coordinator for Baltimore Chinese School Dragon Dance.
From the head to the tail, each person must act as one.
"We need the whole dragon to be working together," said Ryan Xu, the vice president of Baltimore Chinese School Dragon Dance. "So, I depend on the dragon to follow my movements, and they depend on me to make the movements."
"Most people, generally, you're working on your own part, but in a lot of movements," Kai Lau explained. "You have to be very aware of what else is happening and the things around you, so that you can be fluid."
Bringing people together with a dragon dance
The group unites young people in the community while promoting cultural awareness through the traditional art of dragon dance. Many of the members have also formed another dragon team at Dulaney High School, which has become an extension of their efforts to share Chinese culture.
"People can gain, like, a sense of understanding, and it's just, it's very fun to talk about it, just to start many conversations," said Xu.
"We have many members who aren't of Chinese heritage," Kai Lau said. "We're always open to new members, any age, any culture, so you can always just join."
"We want to bring good impact to our community and the dragons is a way that we share our blessings while we share our heritage," said Lim.
