In celebration of Lunar New Year, campers ages 8-12 will be crafting fire breathing dragons, dancing the lion dance and diving into the roots of Chinese culture!
About the workshops
“At first glance, I thought I saw a dragon dance” with Deanna Rose Gene
Morning Workshop: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Courtesy:Chinese Collective Arts Association
The Chinese dragon is a symbol of wisdom, power, and wealth. A dragon dance can be seen during the lunar new year festival. While we can’t fit a whole dragon in our homes, we can simulate the experience by creating and decorating a miniature dragon that even looks like it is breathing fire. Campers will be guided through this fun craft while learning about Chinese traditions to bring in the new lunar year. Come learn about the festivities and let’s celebrate together! Gung Hay Fat Choy (means Happy New Year in Cantonese)
Required Materials:
Pair of scissors
Glue stick
Glue gun or white glue
1 toilet paper roll
1 piece construction paper
2 pom poms approx 1 inch
2 pom poms approx 3/8 inch
2 googly eyes
3 scraps of tissue paper
Alternatives: If you do not have pom poms or googly eyes no worries! I will show you how to make everything out of paper
Lion Dance and Chinese Dance Workshop with Sifu Wilfred Tang and Ms. Elven Koo from the Chinese Collective Arts Association
Afternoon Workshop: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Courtesy:Chinese Collective Arts Association
In this workshop, participants will learn traditional Chinese dance and Lion Dance with professional dancers from the Chinese Collective Arts Association! Find out the meaning behind the celebration, as we dive into the roots of Asian and Chinese culture.
Deanna Gene is a Toronto-based artist who works mainly on installations. Fostering an idea that emerges from her environment through light, sound, and mixed media is her passion. She often creates based on principle themes of culture and the human psyche. Filling up space to design a message or feeling or thought-provoking idea is her objective and an accomplishment to be shared with an open society.
Deanna has showcased her work at Assembly Hall, Colborne lodge, and participated in the Toronto Biennial of Art. Her most recent work was an online exhibit through Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU). She has worked closely with a community arts organization, Lakeshore Arts, and has gained experience working in galleries, arts programming, and children’s education. She graduated from Humber College with a diploma in Visual and Digital Arts and currently is attending OCADU working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
THE CHINESE COLLECTIVE ARTS ASSOCIATION
The Chinese Collective Arts Association (CCAA) is a non-profitable organization established since 2009, hosting a variety of performances, workshops, and events to offer opportunities for members to be exposed to various art forms of Chinese culture. Chinese dance classes are also offered for students ages 3 to adults, for Chinese Dance, Lion Dance, Kung Fu, Wushu, Tai Chi, Beijing Dance Academy Examination Syllabus, Dance Competitions, Dance Technique, Gymnastics, and Acro.
CCAA Dancers have previously performed at the Toronto Raptors’ Halftime Show, Yee Hong Foundation’s Dragon Ball, OMNI TV’s Live CNY Specials, to name a few. They have participated in numerous invitational performances, received a 100% passing rate with Chinese Dance Syllabus Examination results, obtained High Gold, Overall, and Special Judges’ Awards at regional and national dance competitions across Ontario and in the U.S.. Members of their Youth Dance Team participated in the INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF DANCE AND SONGS “OHRID WAVES”, in Macedonia in 2019.
If there is interest in joining their classes or learning about their events, please contact info@chineseculturalarts.org.
SIFU WILFRED TANG, LION DANCE INSTRUCTOR
Passionate traditional Chinese Kung Fu martial artist with over 25 years of training under the Chung Wah Kung Fu system with Sifu Lee Chi Wai. Wilfred has been teaching traditional Kung Fu and Lion Dance to adults, teens and children since 2003. He joined Chi Ping Dance group in 2012 as the Martial Arts instructor; choreographing and participating in fight scenes for performing arts dramas and annual gala routines. Kung Fu is more than just an art, it is a lifelong journey and it is a pleasure to share this journey with everyone.
MS. ELVEN KOO, CHINESE DANCE INSTRUCTOR
Ms. Elven Koo began dancing with the Chi-Ping Dance Group at 4-years-old. She has participated in many local and international dance events in Mexico, Macau, Hong Kong. At the age of 9, she received awards in dance competitions in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. Ms. Koo has portrayed many dance characters in past drama productions such as the younger sister of Mulan, Spider Queen, and lead roles as White Snake and Zhu Yingtai. She currently teaches Chinese dance with the Chinese Collective Arts Association and has choreographed a number of dances, including award-winning pieces. Her dances have received awards for Best Choreography and Judges Choice at various regional and national competitions. She continues to perform with CCAA as a professional artist and principal dancer.
Annie Katsura Rollins (she/they) is a community arts worker, researcher, and puppetry artist. Finding a sense of much needed belonging in community theatre as a young person, she pursued understanding this feeling of connectedness through the arts with degrees in performance (BFA), theatre performance, direction, and puppetry (MFA) and finally a study in traditional lineages of folk puppetry in China (PhD). She concurrently tested this understanding through over 20 years of professional work in art education, facilitation, and community building.
Since moving to Toronto in 2017, Annie has worked in the community arts sector and co-founded and co-curates with Concrete Cabaret, Toronto’s only experimental puppet slam. Annie is a professor in the University of Connecticut graduate certificate program in puppetry arts. She believes that having the arts in our everyday lives is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
Steffi Ng
Sin Tung (Steffi) Ng (she/her) explores the complexities of Asian immigration experiences through curation, writing and photography. Interweaving these three artistic practices, Ng seeks to build site-specific exhibitions, public programs and installations that amplify marginalized voices and make space for joyful encounters across diverse cultures. Her works have been featured at the DesignTO 2025, Xpace Cultural Centre, Unit 270 and the Graduate Gallery.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sin Tung/Steffi is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her recent interests include AI image-making of demolished architectures, long-distance friendships and Japanese city boy fashion.
Andi Canales
Andi Canales (they/them) is an art lover, writer, producer and performer. In their free time, they enjoy supporting fellow 2SQTBIPOC artists by attending community events and performances. They also write sad sad poetry that sometimes gets published and occasionally create interesting experimental music with their pals.
Sherry Pom Foreman
Sherry Pom Foreman (she/her) is a creative with a passion for community engagement. She is dedicated to spaces like LSA that cultivate expression and make meaningful connections through art.
Revital Weiss
Revital Weiss is a queer Jewish arts worker who believes in the transformational power of the arts. Revital works with artists to develop socially-minded arts programming for marginalized communities. She also advocates for opportunities for emerging artists, particularly BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and incarcerated/formerly incarcerated people. Revital has co-curated and supported arts projects at Neilson Park Creative Centre, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, FENTSTER Gallery, and King Heritage and Cultural Centre. Revital holds a Master of Museum Studies. In a past life, Revital was an urban planner.
May Yebuga
May studied Canadian communities, works with new immigrants to Canada and has been involved in the arts in her experiences in stylist work, TV and music. She has a new interest in Lakeshore Arts because of its commitment to improving availability of the arts.
MY REASON FOR SERVING ON THE BOARD…
I joined LSA to help give youth opportunities and a safe space which encourages self expression. I benefited from the Arts and would like the same for youth in need.
