Chinese dances to join US Independence Day parade

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-25 20:03

LOS ANGELES: For the first time America's National Independence Day Parade on July 4 will feature drum and fan dances performed by Chinese Americans.

Seventy performers, aged between 11 and 55, will take part in the parade in Washington D.C. They belong to the art troupe of the American Chinese Cultural Association based in Los Angeles.

David Lin, president of the association, said "as Chinese Americans we want to celebrate Independence Day together with other Americans and it is also a good opportunity to demonstrate Chinese culture to the mainstream."

The parade will take place at Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Street, about two miles, before a street audience of thousands.

The Chinese fan and drum performers will parade along Constitution Avenue accompanied by the famous Chinese song "In the Land of Hope," composed by Shi Guangnan in 1986 to describe the happiness of the Chinese people after Deng Xiaoping's opening up policy.

The song, with the words "our hometown is in the land of hope," depicts the Chinese people's strong desire for a better new life and echoes the immigrant lives of most Chinese Americans who benefited from the opening up and went abroad to work or study.

Chinese calligraphy will also be on show. It will be a translation of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Famous Chinese calligrapher Tao Haixin, who initiated the idea, will write the translation on four placards. Each placard will be 9 feet high and 3 feet wide and will be held by three Chinese children.

The drum and fan dance troupe, set up in 2005, has performed on many occasions in Southern California. It hopes to perform in other states too, Lin said.

"We are excited that our team will pass the White House. We want more American people to know about Chinese culture," he said.

The National Independence Day Parade consists of invited bands, fife and drum corps, floats, military and specialty units, giant balloons, drill teams and VIPs such as national dignitaries and celebrities.

Participating bands are invited based on recommendations from each state governor's office and the overall quality of the band, as well as ethnic and stylistic versity.

The Chinese drum and fan dance team was invited to perform because of its reputation and recommendations from mainstream organizations, Lin said.