Folk Arts - Master Artist - Thuan Nguyen

Thuan Nguyen. Photo by Fritz Dent.

At a Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Festival, held in the streets of the Lincoln District of Tacoma, Washington, even the spectators play a part in the parade. Business proprietors watch from storefronts and hold out envelopes of "lucky money" for children in dragon dance costumes to collect. The children who perform in the dragon dance are traditionally called the "heavenly dogs," and the envelopes of "lucky money" they collect are symbolic offerings. The dragon dance, a vital part of Vietnamese culture, is performed in several festivals, particularly the Tet celebration. The dragon symbolizes blessing and prosperity, and the dance is performed to expel devils and to bring good luck.

Due to the expense of maintaining a dragon dance troupe, the extensive training required of the dancers, and the lack of resources available for further instruction, dragon dancing is disappearing from Vietnamese communities in the United States.

As a recipient of a 1998 Apprenticeship grant, Nguyen taught his students, Through the Vietnamese Youth Martial Arts Association, essential skills to perform the dragon dance. Nguyen shares his knowledge of the dance form with young people, training them in martial arts and acrobatics, playing the drum, gong, and cymbals, and operating the dragon. Eventually his students practice performing the dragon dance as a group. As well as learning a tradition that is significant to the culture, children learn a sense of history and community.