Canberra Dragon Dance is the professional performance arm of our academy and combines self defence displays with wushu, lion dance, dragon dance and chinese percussion as part of an interactive show for audiences around Canberra and surrounding regions.
The Chinese dragon is a symbol of power, wealth and wisdom and the dragon dance has been performed since the Han Dynasty 1800 years ago in festivals and celebrations around the world.
It requires strength, co-ordination and team work and it showcases the style of the kung fu practitioner. We have 6 dragons - Bruce, the Little Dragon is gold , Jackie, a kid's green dragon, Donnie, our 14 metre long illuminated red fire dragon who is great for night time performances, Blue Steel our 10m blue illuminated dragon and Night Fury our black and gold teenage dragon. The longest dragon in Canberra is our 9 person pink competition dragon made in Singapore. His name was Jet but since he was reborn with a new head and tail for the ROAR for Canberra show in 2020 he has been renamed Fearless.
We have been blessed to have the eyes of Donnie dotted in an awakening ceremony by the Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye and also by the Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University and Noble Laureate Brian Schmidt. We were equally honoured when Fearless had his eyes dotted by Ms Carmela Pavlic Searle, the producer of the Where You Are Festival by RISE Canberra.
Our students love training in dragon dance which involves not only the dancers themselves holding the dragon, but also the bearer of the Pearl of Wisdom and percussionists who symbolise the heart beat of the dragon. Have a look at the photos of our recent performances on our dedicated Canberra Dragon Dance Facebook Page.
We also train in and perform lion dance and our team of 16 lions have been handcrafted in China just for our academy. Each lion has a name and personality and we pay tribute to the many cultures which made up our academy with names such as Goku, Zhang Ziyi, Wakanda, Purple Rain, Pikachu, Phoenix and many more. Our lions have vibrant colours whilst our LED lions change colour at night time shows. We use Hoksan, Futsan, hybrid Futhok and Traditional lions. We also have kid's lions for kids not only to train in but to perform in. Lions are frequently used to bless businesses and for celebrations to bring good luck. As much as possible we combine dragon, lion and kung fu performances although sometimes we perform only one of these disciplines if a client requests.
We also run workshops for the public and for schools to introduce and teach all of our disciplines of martial arts, lion and dragon dance and chinese percussion.
Watch a traditional eye dotting ceremony for Goku, our adult blue lion and Pikachu, our yellow kids lion:
In 2019 we performed for:
Canberra Dragon Dance School holiday workshops x 2 Morshead Home, Lyneham UC College Lunar New Year welcoming UC O Week Market Day UC O Week Vice Chancellor's Address Department of Human Services Tasting China, Canberra City Momoda, Canberra City Wild Duck, Kingston Foreshore Majestic Princess Cruise Ship Guardian Early Learning Centre Bruce HSBC Lunar New Year corporate dinner Canberra Centre Lunar New Year festival IKEA Lunar New Year festival Majestic Mushrooms, Murrumbateman RSL Lifecare Page RIFL Holt Weston Asian Grocery Canberra Times photo and video shoot ACT Police Multicultural Festival Video National Multicultural Festival Promotion with MLA Chris Steele National Multicultural Festival - 3 performances National Multicultural Festival Parade with Gungahlin College Flowing Festival, Jindabyne Enlighten Pegasus Open Day National Museum of Australia performances and workshops x 10 Maribyrnong Primary School Dragon Boat Festival at FCCCI ANU lion dance workshop John Paul II College dragon dance workshop Canberra Moon Festival Canberra Vietnamese School Moon Festival Ms Ba Co Canberra City Floriade Floriade in the Suburbs Floriade Night Fest x 3 nights Opals vs China Basketball Match Murrumbateman Field Days Braddon Busking Festival Chaki Chaki, Braddon Woolley Street Night Markets Two Sisters Lao Thai, Dickson Maribyrnong Twilight Fair The Wedding of Aaron and Claire Dendy Canberra's 13th Birthday National Dinosaur Museum
In 2020 we have performed for
Campbell After School Activity Centre RSL Lifecare Page ABC Canberra (radio interview) Canberra Centre Coles Canberra Centre Soi Noodle Bar New York Nails and Spa Dendy Canberra Madam Lu Ming's Pantry Weston Asian Grocery IKEA Canberra UC O Week Market Day Commonwealth Bank, Bruce Little Penguins Early Childhood Centre National Multicultural Festival x 4 performance National Multicultural Festival Parade with Dragonstyle SBS World News interview and performance UC Vietnamese Students Society Lunar New Year Festival Daramalan College Lion and Dragon Dance Workshops Maribyrnong Primary School End of Term Performance ROAR for Canberra for Where You Are Festival Moon Festival at National Museum of Australia Halloween Blessing of New City Walk Tea Ceremony Wedding for Jacky and Ainav Canberra Times Photoshoot Blessing of Expert Orthopaedics
And we have many other performances booked in for 2021!
Please contact us if you would like to book a performance or would like to join our team!