For over a decade now, the Dragon Horse Lion Dance Association has been entertaining audiences, promoting family togetherness and carrying on the Chinese tradition and art form.
The group’s name comes from the Chinese saying “Loong Mah Jing Sun, which means, “Spirit of the horse, the power of the dragon,” says group founder Wilson Mah. “That is exactly what we want to share with our kids and bring it out with them.”
“I was born in the year of the dragon, and my name is ‘Mah,’” he continues. “My brother in law, Tony Lee, who was also one of the founders, had a nickname Loong Tou [Dragon Head]. Because it was his facility that we started in, it just seemed like a natural progression in order to take that name. And it works for us. Everyone loves it.”
“Loong Mah’s primary objective is to help develop among our youth the sense of spirit of sharing, teamwork, community involvement and charity,” he said.
There are two things that really make this nonprofit group unique. One is the parental involvement. Mah explained, “What we like is to make sure that the parents buy into our philosophy. There is no cost to the student and therefore, to the parents. In the beginning, we took donations from the parents. … But as we got bigger and better and a little older, we got honorariums and donations from the different groups that hire us.”
“We wanted the parents to be really genuinely interested in having their children participate and learn the culture as well as appreciate the art and develop the cultural self-esteem and the pride. [That requires] the parents’ involvement. The bottom line I say is, ‘We are not a babysitting service. We’re not here at your whim to teach your kids so that you can go out and play mahjong.’”
What’s also special about Loong Mah is its Mothers’ Dragon Team. When the group realized most of the kids involved in the original team had gone on to college, parents began to realize more bodies were needed to perform all the lion dance synchronization moves. Dragon dances required even larger numbers.
“It turns out that a number of the mothers had been involved in the Chinese Nine Ball Volleyball championship teams in the past. The bottom line was that they believed, ‘We can do this. We think we can do this.’ We gave them that opportunity, and lo and behold, they proved they could. We dubbed them ‘Phoenix Rising,’” says Mah.
“Phoenix Rising to me represents the manifestation of women and their rightful place in the world. They can when asked to perform at a level equal to or possibly exceeding what the men will do. Their commitment to the team has been fabulous, and I commend them for that. That’s why the people who hire us are constantly amazed by what the mothers can do. Subsequently they have become very popular. “We love it because it’s a break from all the stereotypes — be it racial or gender, [proving] again that everyone deserves their place in the world.”
Somehow the naming logic seems fitting, as Dragon and Phoenix were also symbols of the emperor and empress of China.