Lion Dance Troupe enter the White House to celebrate the Lunar NewYear

The first-ever Lunar New Year reception was held in the White House in the United States on January 26, 2023 in the evening. President Joseph Biden and first lady Jill Biden of the United States co-hosted the event. First Lady Jill Biden made a special effort to dress in a vivid crimson cheongsam with Chinese motifs for the ceremony that evening. The Lunar New Year was also celebrated with decorations, and a strong Chinese theme flowed in.

President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, numerous Asian-American guests, and other distinguished visitors were welcomed to the New Year's Reception with a dynamic and inspirational lion dance performance. It is noteworthy that Adam Chua, the martial arts instructor of Chinese Culture and Community Service Center (CCACC) and Michael Wu, the founder of the ChoyWun Lion Dance Troupe, jointly led the lion dance team at the White House New Year Reception. A crimson lion danced before my eyes, sometimes jumping into the air while having angry eyes, other times playing and waving its head. President Biden, his wife, and the visitors all smiled at the jovial traditional lion dance with gongs and drums.

Lion dance is a traditional folk performance in China. Lions are considered to be auspicious creatures to drive away evil spirits. Every important festival in the lunar calendar, lion dance is a must to add to the fun. To perform a lion dance, each performer needs to be trained for the basic stance, physical fitness, agility as well as upper body coordination and situational awareness. At advanced levels of lion dance, acrobatic skills are also required. In the final analysis, lion dance is a sport that can truly reflect teamwork, and it also requires the concerted efforts of lion dance performers and percussionists. In order to protect the traditional lion dance art and carry forward Chinese martial arts culture, the two instructors, Adam Chua and Michael Wu, dedicate time each week to teaching children and young adults traditional Chinese Kung Fu on the ground floor of the CCACC center in Virginia and Maryland.

Adam Chua has over 28 years of expertise in both training and education. He has been studying traditional kungFu for many years with Australian martial arts master B Lee and British martial arts teachers L.Au Yeung, ShiHeng Sheng, Y.Lee, and D.Sung, and he has now attained the senior instructor rank. During his study, competition, and teaching tours, he has traveled to places like China (Shaolin Temple), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, United Kingdom, Poland, Croatia, Australia, and the United States. He successively learned Songshan Shaolin Kungfu from Master Li Baolin (North and South Shaolin Australia International Shaolin Martial Arts Museum), Master Ouyang (learning Liu Jiahong Boxing), Y.W. Lee (Chinwoo UK Ching Wu Sports Association) and Master Heng Sheng (the 35th generation Shaolin monk). In addition, he has undergone extensive training with Korean Special Forces Officer D. Sung, earning his Professional Instructor Certification. Just as his martial arts career was taking off, Master Chua made the bold decision to relocate to Maryland's Chinese Culture and Community Service Center and founded CCACC Chua Martial Arts and Lion Dance, which trains kids and teenagers in traditional martial arts and lion dance techniques. Since lion dance is an amazing performance art in traditional Chinese culture, he wishes to teach the new generation this talent. Because everyone is equally affected by and shocked by the traditional Chinese lion dance culture, every Chinese person has this complex soul imprinted in his bones. You can develop balance and coordination, endurance and cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and agility, as well as teamwork while studying the lion dance. Master Chua said: "I am hoping to be able to pass down the art of lion dancing from one generation to the next. To Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, I am incredibly appreciative. I've been able to learn martial arts from CCACC for a number of years because of their heartfelt reverence for Chinese culture. More Chinese and other ethnic groups will understand and be interested in lion dance if you give them a lot of support and encouragement."

On that day, Master Adam Chua and the Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe collaborated on a crucial mission and delivered an excellent performance. The team, which was established in 2012 with the goal of conserving and promoting Chinese culture through the art of lion dance, performs for free at significant events in the Washington, DC, area. The two masters have the same belief in traditional lion dance, allowing for the transmission of Chinese lion dance techniques from one generation to the next and the legacy of traditional culture in each and every step.

Longtime CCACC members have had access to practice spaces for lion dance and martial arts in Chinese Culture and Community Service Center. Also, we are pleased with Master Chua's visit to the White House. In addition, it is a steadfast purpose to advance cultural exchanges between China and the West and to advance traditional Chinese culture as a center to improve the image of Chinese Americans and serve the Washington, DC, community.

(Writer: CCACC Xinyun Zhang)

Chua Martial Arts-CCACC Martial Arts and Lion Dance

Training Hours: Every Tuesday 6pm-7pm

Address: CCACC, 9366 Gaither Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20877