The Golden Parade Dragon
With funding from the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, San Jose's Golden Dragon awoke on July 30, 1995, after 71 years of slumber. This majestic creature glistened from thousands of sequins and spangles, and spans 125 feet in length.
The last documented appearance of San Jose's Golden Dragon was in 1924 in front of the Ng Shing Gung in San Jose's Heinlenville Chinatown. Since then, Gum Lung, the Golden Dragon, disappeared from public view.
Decades later, a donated head and tail from a dilapidated San Francisco dragon was restored and a new pristine body was created. The new Golden Dragon awoke at the 1995 Chinese Summer Festival, when a mixture of potent herbs was rubbed onto his eyes in the traditional “eye-dotting” ceremony.
East West Dragon Dance Team
At one point in time the East West Dragon Dance Team was full of kung fu students from the East West Kung Fu Studio. It eventually became comprised mainly of students from surrounding high schools and volunteers. High schools have used this team as a way of getting their students involved and active in the community while also giving their students credit for community service hours. The team is no longer in existence, but some of its former members moved on to create another cultural dance troupe: The Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association.
Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association
“Defining our Present: Building our Future”
To ensure a successful future for a new generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander youth; as a team we define our present in terms of cultural foundation, community connectivity, and personal empowerment via the art, discipline and history of the lion and dragon dance.
The Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association (FEDLDA)is a registered 501(c)3 non profit youth group that uses the art and history of the lion and the dragon dance as a vehicle for cultural awareness and youth empowerment. What started out as a small group of friends is today a full fledged team boasting a membership of over 50 dance students, with students ranging in ages from the 6 th grade to high school seniors, from diverse backgrounds and communities.
The trainers and coordinators of FEDLDA conduct their work on a voluntary basis providing lessons, training, uniforms, food during practices and travel to performances at NO COST TO THE STUDENT.
The FEDLDA is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for our young members to develop active, healthy lives that are connected and committed to community service and culture.
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History:
At the mere age of 16, Albert Le took his long interest in the ancient art of Lion Dancing to another level. From what began as a hobby and interest eventually transformed itself into a whole organization: The Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association. The organization was formed in 2000. With a loan from a parent and Lunar New Years money stashed away by Albert, they were able to purchase their first lion head and drum set. The organization started out with only a few good friends and one lion head, but through the years, the organization has grown considerably with a current roster of over 50 active members and a room's worth of lion heads and equipment
Community and Youth Empowerment:
The FEDLDA not only provides free lessons, but also the outlet for students to showcase their martial arts/dance talents and a cultural connection to the Asian American, Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian American communities through events and activities.
Our association regularly performs in local festivals and community based events such as the annual Lunar New Year Tet Parade and Children Moon Festival in downtown San Jose, the Lunar Unity Parade in Cupertino, charities like Asian American . We were also one of the 2004 representatives of the Asian Pacific Islander community at the San Francisco Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade.
We also offer historical and cultural presentations to accompany our dance performances that we regularly conduct at community centers, literacy events, schools and cultural celebrations.
The FEDLDA also serves as a center of support to our youth members. When not practicing or performing, our members take part in team building and group bonding activities and volunteer as a group with worthy causes and other non-profit organizations. We also encourage our members to continuously take on leadership roles within the organization as we continue to accept new members and grow.
Needless to say, it is a mission that all members of our association are well-versed not only in the art and history of the lion and dragon dance, but also rooted in a firm overall cultural foundation, connected to the community and are personally empowered through their varying leadership roles in the organization.
Woman Empowerment
In a tradition that has historically been reserved for men, it is a priority that we challenge societal norms while maintaining cultural roots. Historically, women were not even allowed to touch a lion head much less perform with it. Even after women were allowed to participate in the lion dance, many were relegated to secondary instrument roles and still do. We make an effort to include our female members in all aspects of the lion dance, and many are among our senior core of performers.
We are proud to share that we have one of the largest number of female members who are not only extremely valuable members of the performance team as lion dancers, drummers, and instructor; but also key partners in our organization as community outreach coordinators, spokespersons, public relations manager and cultural/historical presenters.
It is worth mentioning that our group was the first competition lion dance team to enter a mixed guy/girl pair into a national lion dance competition.
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Support
Although our friends and family provide us with considerable moral support, we financially rely solely on the generosity of the community through financial donations and in-kind contributions. This helps us keep lessons free, and cover the cost of food, transportation and equipment for our performers. If you would like to be a sponsor for our dinner or just our group in general, please contact us.
Accomplishments and Recognitions
(2005 and 2007 First Place Vietnamese Spring Festival Parade)
For all contact information please visit the Contacts page.
