Dragons are of course legendary animals, but they are important to Chinese people who think of dragons as helpful, friendly creatures. They are linked to good luck, long life and wisdom. They are nothing like the fierce, fire-breathing Western dragons that carry off princesses and eat people. Chinese Dragons are associated with storm clouds and life-giving rain. They have special powers so they can fly in the air, swim in the sea and walk on land. The Dragon has features of other animals such as the horns of a stag, the scales of a fish and the foot pads of a tiger.
OCA Greater Cleveland Dragon Dance team for the 2017 Chinese New Year event at Quicken Loans Arena.
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Learn how to do the Chinese Dragon Dance, the Dragon Flag, the Dragon Drums, & The Dragon Wisdom Pearl techniques plus basic martial arts warm-ups! Advanced students will also learn acrobatic exercises. Senior members will be part of the Performance team that is invited to perform throughout NE Ohio. Performances include the Cleveland Asian Festival, OCA Moon Festival, Lunar New Year Celebrations and many others. Open to everyone (Children or Adult) that can run and able to carry the Dragon. The OCA Cleveland Dragon Dance Team is part of OCA’s cultural outreach activity and Project RAISE to encourage physical activity in the Asian community.
Location: Asian Town Center, 2nd floor. 3820 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44103 FEE: $40 for each Quarter of classes for Adult and $20 for Children. Uniform (pants/shirt) $30 each. Classes are FREE to members of OCA Cleveland, (cheaper to become a member), join now!
Click here to sign up! Dragon Dance Classes are once-a-week on Weekends, with seasonal schedule updates, and each class is a two-hour session. To graduate and be eligible for performance, a participant must attend at least 6 sessions. Performance priority will be for those with highest “Seniority” per Martial Arts system.
ClevelandPeople.com did a nice coverage during our performance at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, click here to read more.
In 2014, the OCA Cleveland Dragon Dance Team performed at eight venues. Here are some videos from performances as well as practice.
OCA Dragon featuring Yume Daiko on drums at 2014 Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival – Came-7500 with gh4 12-35mm lens from Johnny Wu on Vimeo.
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Sponsored by OCA Greater Cleveland, with support from Asian Town Center, and Tshaka Brown Shaolin Kungfu School.