TRADITION BROUGHT TO LIFE
Chinese Lion Dance in Asheville and Western North Carolina
Experience the energy, rhythm, teamwork, and cultural celebration of Chinese lion dance with Dragon Phoenix.
Our team welcomes complete beginners ages 12 and older. Members learn lion head and tail roles, traditional percussion, coordinated movement, kung fu demonstrations, dragon streamers, and the skills needed to bring a performance to life.
New members may join at any time, and the first class is free.
Saturdays · 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Ages 12 and older · No experience required
First class free
Saturdays · 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Ages 12 and older · No experience required
TWO WAYS TO CONNECT
Join the Team—or Bring the Celebration to You
Lion dance can be experienced from inside the team or shared with an audience. Learn to perform with Dragon Phoenix, or invite our team to bring the energy and excitement of lion dance to your event.
Join the Dragon Phoenix Lion Dance Team
Become part of a welcoming team built around movement, music, cooperation, and performance.
Complete beginners are welcome. Members ages 12 and older learn lion head and tail roles, footwork, choreography, drum, gong, cymbals, dragon streamers, kung fu demonstrations, and the cultural traditions connected with lion dance. You may explore every role or concentrate on the parts of the team that interest you most.
Invite the Team to Perform
Bring the color, rhythm, excitement, and celebratory spirit of Chinese lion dance to your school, business, festival, wedding, nonprofit event, or community gathering.
Dragon Phoenix performs throughout Western North Carolina. Performances may include lion dance, traditional percussion, audience interaction, plucking the greens, business blessings, dragon streamers, and kung fu demonstrations.
Programs may range from a focused 15–30-minute lion dance performance to an extended presentation lasting up to an hour.
Because dates and times depend upon performer availability, we encourage you to contact us as early as possible.
MOVEMENT, MUSIC, AND CULTURAL CELEBRATION
More Than a Costume—A Team Brings the Lion to Life
Chinese lion dance brings together martial movement, expressive performance, live percussion, and teamwork.
Two performers move together beneath the lion. One controls the head, eyes, mouth, and expression while the other creates the body, tail, and powerful movement of the lion’s hindquarters. Around them, the drum, gong, and cymbals establish the rhythm that guides the performance and gives it energy.
Every part of the team matters. Bringing the lion to life requires strength, coordination, timing, awareness, creativity, and trust between performers.
Lion dance is often shared during Lunar New Year and at business openings, weddings, festivals, schools, cultural programs, and other meaningful celebrations. Different performances may welcome good fortune, honor an important occasion, engage the audience, or simply bring people together through movement, music, and joy.
The Dragon Phoenix Approach
Dragon Phoenix focuses on energetic, ground-based community performances rather than high-pole competition.
Our team combines lion dance, percussion, dragon streamers, audience interaction, ceremonial elements, and kung fu demonstrations to create performances suited to many different spaces and occasions.
The result is something both disciplined and joyful: a team of people working together to transform movement, rhythm, and imagination into a living lion.
LION DANCE PERFORMANCES THROUGHOUT WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Bring Energy, Good Fortune, and Celebration to Your Event
The Dragon Phoenix Lion Dance Team brings colorful, engaging performances to schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, festivals, weddings, private celebrations, and community gatherings throughout Western North Carolina.
Every event is different. We will work with you to create a performance that fits your occasion, audience, available space, and schedule.
A focused lion dance performance normally lasts approximately 15–30 minutes. Extended programs incorporating kung fu demonstrations, educational elements, and additional performance material may last up to an hour.
Performances may be adapted for indoor or outdoor spaces. We will discuss the performance area, surface, sound, weather considerations, and other practical needs with you while planning the event.
Performance Options May Include
One or more performing lions
Live drum, gong, and cymbal music
Audience interaction
Plucking the greens
Red-envelope presentations
Business blessings and grand-opening ceremonies
Dragon streamers
Kung fu demonstrations
An educational introduction to lion dance and its cultural significance
Performance Fees
Performance fees vary according to the length and scope of the program, travel requirements, number of performers, and type of event.
Dragon Phoenix offers different considerations for schools, charities, and nonprofit organizations than for private celebrations and for-profit events. Contact us with a few details about your event, and we will provide an appropriate quote.
Reserve Your Date Early
Performance availability depends upon the schedules of our team members, including performers who attend school during the week. Lunar New Year and other popular dates can fill quickly.
Please contact us as early as possible to reserve your preferred date and time.
REQUEST A LION DANCE PERFORMANCE
Performance inquiries:
Mark Small, Lion Dance Team Coordinator
msmall1226@gmail.com
JOIN THE TEAM
No Experience Needed—Every Role Can Be Learned
The Dragon Phoenix Lion Dance Team is open to new students from throughout the community—not only people who already study kung fu at Dragon Phoenix.
You may arrive with a lifelong interest in lion dance or simply be curious about trying something new. No previous martial arts, dance, music, or performance experience is required.
New members ages 12 and older may join at any time.
What You Will Learn
Team members have opportunities to explore every part of a lion dance performance:
Lion head and tail roles
Foundational stances, footwork, and coordinated movement
Lion expression, character, and choreography
Drum, gong, and cymbals
Rhythm, timing, and musical coordination
Dragon-streamer performance
Kung fu demonstrations
Audience interaction and ceremonial elements
Cultural background and performance etiquette
Teamwork, communication, and trust
You may explore the entire performance system or concentrate on the roles that interest you most. Some members are drawn to performing inside the lion, while others find their place through percussion, streamers, demonstrations, or supporting the larger team.
Tuition and Membership
Lion Dance follows Dragon Phoenix’s regular curriculum tuition:
One class each week: $100 per month
Two classes each week: $185 per month
Three or more classes each week: $270 per month
Current Dragon Phoenix students may select Lion Dance as one of the weekly classes included in their curriculum membership. Someone interested only in Lion Dance may join through the one-class-per-week membership.
Team members will need to purchase a performance uniform before participating in public events. The coaches will explain uniform requirements as students prepare to perform.
Begin with a Free Trial Class
Your first Lion Dance class is free.
Wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move easily and bring a water bottle. Shifu Brian Orr and Shifu Zayden Gettys will introduce you to the team, explain how practice works, and help you begin exploring the different roles.
Saturdays · 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Ages 12 and older · Complete beginners welcome
Paid Performance Opportunities
Team members who participate in paid performances receive a share of the performance income.
The amount each performer receives depends upon the fee collected for the event and the number of participating performers dividing the share. Performance opportunities depend upon the event calendar, performer readiness, and availability.
Questions about joining the team:
Aaron Dison
aaron@dragonphoenix.org
BEHIND THE PERFORMANCE
Many Roles. One Living Lion.
A lion dance succeeds because every member listens, responds, and contributes to the same performance.
Some members work together inside the lion. Others create the rhythm, guide transitions, perform with streamers, or help connect the lion dance with a larger kung fu demonstration. Each role requires its own skills, but none stands alone.
Lion Head
The head performer gives the lion its direction, expression, and personality.
Through coordinated steps and precise control of the head, eyes, and mouth, the performer helps the lion appear curious, playful, alert, powerful, or joyful.
Lion Tail
The tail performer creates the lion’s body, hindquarters, and much of its power.
The head and tail must move as one. This role develops strength, endurance, spatial awareness, communication, and an unusually close sense of partnership.
Gong and Cymbals
The gong and cymbals strengthen the rhythm and give the performance its unmistakable sound.
Players learn to listen closely, respond to the drum, emphasize important moments, and contribute energy without losing control of the larger musical pattern.
Drum
The drum provides the heartbeat of the performance.
The drummer establishes the energy, communicates changes, supports the lion’s character, and helps the entire team remain connected through a shared rhythm.
Dragon Streamers and
Kung Fu Demonstrations
Dragon streamers add color, flow, and sweeping movement to a performance.
Kung fu demonstrations allow team members to share additional skills and extend a short lion dance into a larger presentation. Together, these elements make it possible to adapt the program for different audiences, spaces, and occasions.
Find the Role That Speaks to You
New members are encouraged to explore.
You may discover that you love bringing the lion’s face to life, supporting a partner from the tail, driving the performance from the drum, playing percussion, moving with a streamer, or demonstrating kung fu.
Every role offers a meaningful way to become part of the team.
WHAT GROWS THROUGH PRACTICE
Strength, Skill, Confidence, and Connection
Lion dance asks performers to do more than memorize a routine.
Members learn to move with purpose, listen closely, respond to one another, and remain focused while creating something joyful for an audience. These abilities develop gradually through shared practice and real performance experience.
Strength and Endurance
Moving beneath the lion, maintaining low positions, controlling the head, and supporting a partner build practical strength and stamina.
Teamwork and Trust
A lion can only come to life when its performers communicate and work together. Every member learns to support the people around them and take responsibility for their role.
Balance and Coordination
Footwork, weight shifting, turns, expressive movement, and partner roles teach the body to remain coordinated through constant change.
Confidence and Presence
Practice helps members become more comfortable learning unfamiliar skills, performing before an audience, recovering from mistakes, and meeting meaningful challenges.
Rhythm and Timing
Performers learn to hear musical cues, follow changing rhythms, and connect movement with the drum, gong, and cymbals.
Culture and Community
Lion dance gives members an active way to engage with Chinese cultural traditions while bringing celebration, energy, and connection to communities throughout Western North Carolina.
Develop Your Skills as the Team Grows
You do not need to arrive strong, coordinated, musical, or confident.
Those are qualities you can develop through patient instruction, consistent practice, and the experience of becoming part of something larger than yourself.
From Weekly Practice to Community Celebration
Every performance begins with people learning how to move together.
Through regular practice, individual roles gradually become one coordinated experience: the lion responds to the drum, the musicians respond to the movement, partners communicate without speaking, and the entire team directs its energy toward the audience.
Dragon Phoenix has shared lion dance at Lunar New Year celebrations, schools, businesses, festivals, community gatherings, weddings, and other special events throughout Western North Carolina.
Watch the Dragon Phoenix Lion Dance Team
Experience the movement, rhythm, color, and joyful energy of a Dragon Phoenix performance.
Moments from Past Performances
MEET YOUR COACHES
Learn Lion Dance One Step at a Time
Saturday Lion Dance Team practices are led by Shifu Brian Orr and Shifu Zayden Gettys. Together, they guide new and returning members through the movement, rhythm, teamwork, character, and performance skills that bring the lion to life.
Complete beginners are welcome. Members can explore different roles—including the lion head, lion tail, percussion, and supporting performance elements—then focus on the parts of Lion Dance that interest them most.
Shifu Brian Orr
Lion Dance Coach
Shifu Zayden Gettys
Lion Dance Coach
No previous Lion Dance or martial arts experience is required. Bring your curiosity, willingness to learn, and readiness to work as part of a team.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Lion Dance Team FAQ
Do I need previous Lion Dance or martial arts experience?
Not at all. Complete beginners are welcome, and your first Lion Dance class is free. The coaches will introduce the foundational movements, rhythms, roles, and teamwork skills you need to begin.
Do I have to be a Dragon Phoenix student to join?
No. The Lion Dance Team is open to both current Dragon Phoenix students and people from throughout the community. You may join because Lion Dance is your primary interest, or you may choose to explore other Dragon Phoenix classes later.
What ages can participate?
The team is designed primarily for ages 12 and older.
Are team members paid for performances?
When the team receives payment for a performance, participating performers receive a share based on the amount paid and the number of performers involved.
When does the team practice?
The team currently practices on Saturdays from 1:00–2:30 p.m. New members may join throughout the year.
How much does it cost to participate?
Lion Dance follows regular Dragon Phoenix curriculum tuition. It can be selected as one of the weekly classes included in a student’s curriculum membership. Your first class is a free trial class.
Will I need to purchase a uniform?
You do not need a performance uniform for your first class. Team members who become ready to participate in public performances will need to purchase the required uniform.
How much does a performance cost?
Performance fees vary according to the event, program length, number of performers, travel, and whether the host is a school, charity, nonprofit organization, business, or private client. Contact Performance Coordinator Mark Small for availability and a customized quote.
Can I focus on a particular Lion Dance role?
Yes. Members learn how the different parts of the team work together and may focus on the roles that interest them most—including lion head, lion tail, drum, cymbals, gong, or other supporting performance elements.
How far in advance should I request a performance?
Contact us as soon as possible to reserve your preferred date and time. Performance availability depends on the schedules of our team members, some of whom are students attending school during the week.
How long is a typical performance?
Most Lion Dance appearances last approximately 15–30 minutes. Longer programs of up to an hour may be available and can include kung fu demonstrations, dragon streamers, percussion, and additional cultural or educational elements.
BRING THE LION TO LIFE
Join the Team or Invite Us to Your Event
Whether you want to step beneath the lion yourself or bring the excitement of Lion Dance to your community, we would love to hear from you.
Join the Lion Dance Team
No previous experience is required. The team welcomes beginners ages 12 and older, including both current Dragon Phoenix students and people who are completely new to the school.
Practices are currently held Saturdays from 1:00–2:30 p.m., and new members may join throughout the year.
Your first Lion Dance class is free.
Questions about joining the team?
Contact Aaron Dison at aaron@dragonphoenix.org
Request a Lion Dance Performance
Bring the sound, color, movement, and joyful energy of Chinese Lion Dance to your school, festival, nonprofit event, business celebration, private gathering, or community occasion.
Programs may range from a 15–30 minute Lion Dance appearance to an expanded presentation featuring kung fu demonstrations, percussion, dragon streamers, and cultural or educational elements.
Contact us as early as possible, as dates and times are subject to performer availability.
Performance inquiries:
Mark Small, Performance Coordinator
msmall1226@gmail.com