SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Chinese Dance Association (Huaxing Arts Group SF) is the opening performance for the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.
“We’re very happy to be invited back,” said Xiaopei Gelb, the President of the U.S. Chinese Dance Association.
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“I’m super excited,” said Eve Usseri, a performer and 9-year veteran with the dance company. “Last year, I felt like it was super fun to perform in front of a bigger audience than we normally do.”
The dancers have been practicing twice a week, working on several routines for the various community events they do. But, they are focusing their efforts on this upcoming performance for the parade on March 7.
“It’s trying to get yourself into character and find all the details to the dance,” said Zoe Liu, a performer with the dance company. “So that all your movements look nice.”
“Because this is the year of the horse,” Gelb said. “We have to have something different. So, we are doing a chopstick dance.”
Gelb says the chopstick dance comes from Mongolia, an area known for its large grassland areas and the historical use of horses.
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“It’s amazing to be able to share all these different stories through our dance,” said Mia Ng, a performer with the dance company. “It’s always just amazing to be able to do as much as we can to show the world our culture.”
“It’s very important to show our Chinese-American community,” Usseri said. “And represent our culture to a larger audience.”
“I think it’s a really fun opportunity,” said Liu, “I’m really looking forward to it.”
ABC7 Eyewitness News is the official broadcast partner of the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade. Catch all the action starting at 5 p.m., March 7, wherever you stream ABC7.
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