The Traditional Chinese Dance Troupe of the American Chinese Art Society (ACAS) was established in 1986. Members of ages 7 and above are selected through an annual open audition held on the first Saturday in August. Though most members start at their tender ages, they are all hard-working talented enthusiasts of traditional Chinese dance repertoire. Notably, many Dance Troupe “graduates” continue to actively engage in traditional Chinese dance activities at their colleges. Since the opening of The ACAS Activity Center, an extensively renovated old Army building located in Woburn, MA, in 1996, this large, well-equipped, multi-function facility has become the official “home” for all dance classes, rehearsals and other activities.
Under the able leadership of Ms Jade Lin, Executive Director and Choreographer, with Artistic Director, Grace Chan and the other Choreographers and Instructors, the Dance Troupe has become a premier performing group of beautiful traditional Chinese dances and multi-acts dance dramas. Since its founding, the Dance Troupe has attained quite a reputation as evidenced by receiving approximately 20 invitations annually to perform on a wide variety of occasions and community events at numerous institutions such as schools, museums, churches, colleges, hospitals, senior centers, libraries, hotel ballrooms, Newton City Hall, Boston City Plaza, etc, and places throughout the New England area and far beyond as highlighted by performances in Shanghai, China (1997), Disney World, Orlando, Florida (1999), Hawaii, Philadelphia, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island (2000), and Disneyland, Anaheim, California and Taiwan, ROC (2002), Cruise Carnival-Victory (2006), Beijing, Fushun and Dalian, China (2007). All together, the Dance Troupe has accepted almost 500 invitations to perform over the years and these frequent appearances have indeed made the Dance Troupe a major contributor to Chinese culture and arts.
The Dance Troupe was a proud recipient of the Governor’s International Children’s Day Award for Excellence in Multi-Cultural Understanding from Governor Michael Dukakis in 1988. In addition, Executive Director and Choreographer Jade Lin has also been recognized with various awards and grants for her outstanding leadership, contributions and personal achievements.