Breaking tradition: The women of JL Lion Dance
North Texas lion dance group highlights female dancers
Beneath the light of the full Harvest Moon, two lions take center stage at Grand Prairie’s Asia Times Square. Drums boom and cymbals clang as the two beasts, one black and the other red, jump across high metal beams to the steady beat. As the four-legged duo lands back on the ground, the music comes to a sudden stop. All that can be heard is the steady beat of a gong representing the guardian animals’ heartbeats.
The performers take their bows in front of the cheering crowd. After posing with guests for photos, the dancing quartet walks backstage to change out of costume.
From the outside, members of the Garland-based Jiu Long Lion Dance troupe performance look as traditional as any other group. Their choreography embodies a masterful blend of martial arts and storytelling, core values of the dance since its beginnings. The performance follows decades-old routines that symbolize power, wisdom and good fortune, and are meant to spread prosperity. The heads and bodies of their costumes were even handmade in Malaysia by Master Siow Ho Phiew, the world-renowned “master of lion head making.”
But as the head performers lift the bamboo masks and reveal their faces, the two female figures that appear break traditional lion dance structures that have lasted generations.
Lion dancing is a centuries old Asian art form that pushes the strength, martial and mental limits of performers. Many traditional lion troupes reinforce the belief that male bodies are the only ones fit to lead and carry on the tradition. As a result, these groups enforce male-only membership. However, JL Lion Dance is proud to not only include female members, but to also be led by two female co-captains, breaking long-term gender and cultural barriers.
The company has partnered with local businesses, including Asia Times Square, for the past several years to bring one of the oldest and most significant Asian art forms to the American mainstage. Throughout the year, the group celebrates traditional Asian holidays and other significant moments in the local community through costumed performances and appearances.
In Asian cultures, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom and good fortune, and the symbolic dances are meant to spread prosperity. JL Lion Dance co-captain Emily Chea said to her, the lion represents feelings of unity, acceptance and connection with other members of the lion dance community.
Chea started dancing with the group in 2019 after seeing them perform at a local Lunar New Year event with her parents. Three years later, she was selected by her team to lead them in public performances and national competitions.
“I’ve been captain for several years now and I’m still so shocked and honored that my team chose me,” Chea said. “But knowing that they want me to guide JL makes me feel like I’m meant to be here.”
Chea said being part of the lion dance community has helped her grow into a confident leader and, what she hopes to be, a strong role model for other girls who struggle to feel like they belong in male-dominated spaces. While she herself was intimidated to join the group when she was a novice, Chea said quickly building a rapport with other JL Lion Dance members, namely the other girls, made her more comfortable with the idea that there was a place for her in lion dance.
“Especially in DFW, you don’t see a lot of these women trying to do this cultural dance and trying to be good at it,” Chea said. “I think it’s something really beautiful. I love seeing all of the girls coming here wanting to dance and trying to dominate in a male-dominated sport.”
JL Lion Dance member Kody Tang has been with the group since it was founded in 2014 by his cousin and friends. Over the last decade, Tang said JL Lion Dance has worked to welcome and recruit talented dancers of all demographics, no matter their gender or cultural backgrounds. In part, he credits the group’s openness and diversity toward its success over the years, especially in terms of their numerous top state, national and global dance competition rankings.
“We think everyone should learn,” Tang said. “When we go to competitions, even ones made up of only Texas or American teams, we’re usually one of the only teams that have predominantly female members, and tend to rank anywhere from the top four to 10 teams. [...] That shows that empowerment kind of fosters our morals, character and success.”
Unlike other traditional lion dance groups, Chea said the “JL family” and its leaders, including Tang, work to create an environment where all dancers feel appreciated, empowered and included. In doing so, Chea said she has been able to freely and positively explore her Chinese culture in an area of the United States where parts of her heritage are not as widely acknowledged or respected.
“Having a tie to that part of my culture really makes me feel connected to my heritage,” Chea said. “Just connecting with people who are from where I’m from is just so endearing.”
More than just entertaining and bringing prosperity to their audience, Tang said JL Lion Dance members dance as a way to maintain their cultural self-identities and continue to educate themselves on the importance of understanding and respecting cultures and traditions, whether or not they are your own. Despite being with the group for almost a decade, Tang said he still feels the same levels of cultural connection and pride every time he performs, and hopes JL Lion Dance is able to pass on the same feelings to local communities.
“Loyalty, sincerity, harmony — those are just some of the eight key virtues we uphold at JL,” Tang said. “JL, we really believe in spreading the art and those virtues, and that’s exactly what we’re able to do through [performances]. And just through that, we’re able to spread the heart of our culture.”
As she continues to lead JL Lion Dance, Chea said she wants to inspire others in her community to find ways for them to connect with and celebrate their culture, whether or not traditional values say they should do so otherwise.
“JL has helped me learn so much about who I am and who my family is,” Chea said. “I hope I can do the same for others.”
JL Lion Dance troupe members set up for high beam practice in Garland, Texas on Nov. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe members start their post-practice stretches in the Garland, Texas training facility on Nov. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe members practice table dancing in their practice facility in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe member Evalena Davis (second from left) receives form critiques from master William Lee (bottom left) during practice in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance member Emma Tran tries on a lion head during practice in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance co-caption Emily Chea instructs other members through their practice routines in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe members start their post-practice stretches in the Garland, Texas training facility on Nov. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe member Elena Davis (top) practices lifts with her teammate Nicholas Pham in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe member Alexa Ngo (left) and co-captain Emily Chea critique new recruits' lion head and tail movements in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe members Alexa Ngo, Jocelyn Yang and co-captain Emily Chea watch new members practice head and tail formations in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
JL Lion Dance troupe member Jocelyn Yang (third from left) practices drumming outside of JL's training facility in Garland, Texas on Oct. 18, 2025.
