Chinese Youth Club Lion Dance Team
Harry Lee Chow1970
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
Washington, DC, United States
Chinese Youth Club lion dancers during the lunar new year parade in DC’s Chinatown, ca. 1972.
Lion dance is a Chinese cultural tradition that is performed to chase out bad energy, herald in good fortune, and express respect. The first lion dance performance in DC was organized by the Chinese Youth Club (CYC) in the 1940s. They continue the tradition today along with multiple other lion dance teams across the DC metro region, including those organized by martial arts studios and Asian American student clubs at local colleges and universities. Annually, a critical mass of these groups converge in DC’s Chinatown for the Lunar New Year parade.
Details
- Title: Chinese Youth Club Lion Dance Team
- Creator: Harry Lee Chow
- Date Created: 1970
- Location Created: Washington, DC
- Publisher: Photo by and courtesy of Harry Lee Chow
- Original Source: Harry Lee Chow
- Depicted Location: Washington, DC Chinatown
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