David Alexander

Local Dance Association Offers Lunar New Year Festivities

The Year of the Snake is upon us, and the Lunar New Year is in full swing.

One local cultural group has its hands full, displaying a traditional Asian dance often associated with the holiday festivities. For more than 20 years, the Rising Phoenix Dragon and Lion Dance Association has served the Bay Area, offering the Hok San dance at company events and weddings.

“There is so much historical background, tradition and folklore,” said Kevin Nguyen, lead instructor for the group. “There is so much more meaning to a performance than what people see.”

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Legends say the lion dance wards off evil spirits and brings joy, happiness and good luck. A dragon dance, which is similar, also brings luck but is also said to bestow longevity.

The group — made up of young professionals and high school students from Independence and Yerba Buena High Schools in San Jose — also performs dances for businesses, which is supposed to bless the store throughout the year.

A San Jose-based nonprofit, Rising Phoenix Dragon and Lion Dance Association has members from a wide swath of racial backgrounds, including white, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese and Hispanic.

Having been with the group for nearly 16 years, Nguyen said he first considered taking up lion dancing when a troupe performed one during one of his elementary school’s assemblies. The performance stayed with him and developed into a passion.

Not only is it a great core workout, Nguyen said lion dancing offers so much more.

“The goal is, through cultural performance art, to better ourselves as a person using patience, diligence and discipline,” he said.

Since its inception in 2003, the team has grown from nine members to more than 25 members.

After starting an unaffiliated lion dancing club at Independence High School, Alicia Trinh got involved with the group. With a background in martial arts and dance, Trinh, 18, said her Vietnamese upbringing gave her an “infatuation” with lion dance, so when the opportunity to get more involved with the group came along, she grabbed it.

“It is a lot of improv. There will be times when we have to play with the crowd. My favorite part is messing with the little kids,” she said.

Starting the club and branching out has allowed lion dancing to teach her invaluable leadership and social skills, Trinh said.

Although learning the mechanics of how to operate the contraption — using the levers to move the mouth and eyes, expressing drunkenness, fear or excitement — is fairly straightforward, Trinh said there is an art to getting it right.

“It is easy to do the movements, but it takes a lot of time to learn to make the movements look good, to make the lion look alive.

Bryan Huynh, another dancer with Rising Phoenix Lion and Dragon Dancing Association, got involved in lion dancing in college.

“I have always wanted hobbies that connected me to my Asian heritage,” Huynh said. “Lion dance is not something that many people know about … so I appreciate any chance I get to share that with other cultures and see their reactions … it is a good showcase [of] one’s ability.”

Huynh, 25, echoed Trinh’s sentiments, saying lion dancing helped him meet new people.

There is a wonderful synchronicity to lion dancing that Huynh said he loves, not only with one’s partner in the lion or dragon but also with the entire team and community.

Nguyen shared his thoughts.

“This passion for a lot of us here … it is a great way to connect with your roots if you are an Asian American, and if you are not, it is a good way to connect with other cultures in your community,” he said.

To book Rising Phoenix Lion and Dragon Dancing Association for an event or to become a member, visit rpliondance.com.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com

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