‘women are strong enough’: all-female fire dragon troupe makes history in vancouver’s chinatown
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smoke curled through the night air in vancouver’s chinatown, lit by the flicker of incense sticks attached to an undulating 20-metre straw dragon.
when leanne yu first witnessed the fire dragon dance in 2021, she felt something stir deep inside her — a calling woven into the rhythm of drumbeats.
the traditional fire dragon dance comes from hong kong’s tai hang neighbourhood, originally a hakka village, in the late 1880s. held each year during the chinese mid-autumn festival, it features a straw dragon soaked in water and covered in incense sticks, which are lit by community members for good luck.
moved by the ritual, the 39-year-old joined the kung fu club that trains the fire dragon troupe, hoping to reconnect with a part of her chinese heritage that had long felt out of reach.
this saturday, yu returns to the streets not as a spectator but as a leader, carrying the dragon’s head at the front of what chau luen athletics club says is the world’s first all-female fire dragon dance troupe.
“it’s an honour to hold such a prestigious position,” yu said.
“the excuse has always been, ‘a woman couldn’t do this job because the dragon is too heavy — you need your brawniest man,’” she told postmedia. “but i know women are strong enough. i know i’m strong enough.”
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vancouver’s fifth-annual fire dragon festival, presented by the chinatown celebration society, started friday and carries through until saturday.
yu’s pioneering role in the ceremony takes place amid chinatown’s ongoing efforts to preserve its cultural heritage. once a thriving immigrant hub, the neighbourhood has endured years of economic hardship, rising storefront vacancies and redevelopment-driven displacement.
michael tan, head instructor of the chau luen athletics fire dragon team, said the inclusion of an all-female troupe is more than just a historic first. it reflects how the community is working to survive.
“this marks the fifth year of the fire dragon festival in vancouver, which marks five years of building our own tradition — one that is inclusive of everyone,” tan said.
tan was inspired to launch the festival in vancouver after witnessing the tradition in its birthplace.
“i spoke to organizers at the museum in hong kong about how the event is conducted,” explained the instructor. “women have traditionally been excluded from running the dragon or even touching its body, due to superstition and long-standing customs.”
their participation in the cultural ceremony has been limited to the roles of drummers, flag bearers and incense holders.
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“i think it’s important for us to examine and question traditions,” said tan. “that’s how new traditions are created, and how cultures survive.”
the fire dragon ceremony begins saturday at 7 p.m. at 578 carrall st. and will feature three troupes of dancers performing choreography beneath the smoke of lit incense. for safety, the performers will wear goggles, be misted with water, and rotate out when tired.
the creature will wind along keefer street to chinatown memorial square, chasing a pearl — made of straw — that symbolizes prosperity in chinese folklore.
leanne yu is the captain of the world’s first all-female fire dragon dance team.
jason payne
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the dragon was constructed by local artists katharine meng-yuan yi, sean cao and steven dragonn. the team worked three months with dozens of chinatown residents, including many seniors, hand-wrapping bundles of straw that form the creature’s dense head, winding body, tail and pearls.
“this project helped us explore and celebrate our identity as chinese-canadians,” cao said. “building it was also an act of community, as well as resistance to the threats our neighbourhood is facing.”
traditional materials, such as straw and bamboo, mimic those used in the original hong kong ceremony. the dragon’s eyebrows, teeth and tongue were crafted from foam.
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“it will be dark when the ceremony begins. the first thing people will notice is the smell of incense and clouds of smoke,” yi said.
this year’s fire dragon festival will make history not just for vancouver, but for a century-old ritual of chinese culture, now carried forward by women who were once left out of it.
chantelle lui, a member of the all-female troupe, said she feels “honoured” to be part of the historic moment. “i feel like i’m taking part in something really special.”
her leader, yu, who will be at the front of the dragon, told postmedia that she is ready to take it all in.
“i’m so stoked to look behind me during the dance and see a troupe of all women.”
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