Echopedia

American Chinese Dance Association (美國華裔舞蹈協會, ACDA)

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American Chinese Dance Association (美國華裔舞蹈協會, ACDA)

Identity Snapshot

  • Era: founded ~1987–89 (25th anniversary party Feb 11, 2012 → 1987; 34th annual gala Feb 5, 2023 → 1989; “cultivating 20+ years” already by 2009) — first-draft SGV institution
  • Geography: San Gabriel Valley / greater Los Angeles
  • Core roles: performing-arts federation (taiwanese american community institution) — an association of dance schools, not one school

Record

  • Model: a member association of independent SoChinese dance studios — at the 2026 中華舞篇 (Chinese Dance Chapter) showcase (37th edition, Apr 18, 2026, San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, ~1,300 audience): 13 troupes, 300+ teachers/dancers/crew in one co-produced gala. Troupes named on the program include 宇清藝術工作坊, 金鈴舞蹈學校, 陳進舞蹈學校, 王馨悅舞蹈學校, 和韻舞團, 核桃土風舞社.

  • Repertoire as identity data: the 2009 showcase programmed Han, Manchu, Yunnan, Mongolian, Taiwanese (山地/aboriginal), and Hakka dances — and in 2026: 《我們的田野》, 客家採茶舞, 白紵舞. The 2009 show opened right after a performance slot at the local 台灣文化節 (Taiwan Cultural Festival); 2023: ROC 經文處 紀欽耀’s remarks — “台灣是個自由民主的國家，所以我們有中華傳統文化、原住民文化的舞蹈，也有現代舞蹈.”

  • Leadership lineage (multi-sourced): presidents 賴泱璇 (first term 1996, re-took office at the 2023-02-05 handover gala; Cultural University (TW) dance faculty 16 years, then East LA College Chinese-dance instructor), 吳玉玲 (2009 era), past presidents 陳西園, 易天羽.

  • Institution moves: founded ACDA舞劇場 (dance theater) 2004 to train the next generation of choreographers (members later at UC Riverside dance PhD, NYC MFA); annual dance competition with age brackets toddlers→70s, record turnout 2023 with scholarships added; the gala’s free-ticket-for-seniors (65+) tradition; OCAC/經文處 consistently attends.

  • SGV venue history: galas at San Gabriel Theater/Mission Playhouse; 25th anniversary (2012) at STC Center, City of Industry; annual competitions at the LA OCAC center (洛僑中心).

  • Cross-community roles (corpus-added 2026-10-01): ACDA 會長 賴泱璇 served as a judge at the 2023 台美小姐選拔賽 (2023-08-05, San Gabriel Hilton, 28th edition) — the first ACDA-beyond-dance role in the corpus. Earlier, 陳西園 (earlier-generation president) choreographed the opening dance at the 2016 台美小姐選拔 training camp (「望春風」 arrangement per the 2023 report; the 2016 report records him leading 舞蹈指導 at the 2016-06-14 開訓). See 2023 台美小姐, 2016 台美小姐 開訓 and 陳西園.

  • 2021-05-17 WHA joint statement: ACDA is listed as a 共同發起單位 (co-initiating organization) in the 2021-05-17 南加州僑界支持台灣參與世界衛生大會(WHA)聯合聲明 — a SGV arts association co-signing an international-participation statement alongside TAHS (台美人歷史協會), 大洛杉磯台灣會館, 台美律師協會 and ~40 other groups.

  • HOLD (2026-10-01): one corpus article title-tagged 「美國合唱界盛事-百人吟唱布農族語歌曲」 contains an “ACDA” that is the American Choral Directors Association (US 合唱指揮協會, USC arrangement context) — acronym collision, NOT this association; excluded from the record. Verify before any future join/merge.

From the record

  • 2025-03-02 — At the 南加州文化大學校友會年會暨交接典禮 (San Gabriel Hilton, >200 attendees), 駐洛杉磯經文處處長紀欽耀 publicly credited ACDA 會長 賴泱璇 as 「美國華裔舞蹈協會元老及會長，長期活躍僑界，任內主導的『中華舞篇』及『國慶舞展』，記錄屢創新高，對僑界貢獻卓越」 — a first-hand official statement naming ACDA’s two signature showcases and her leadership role, made as she took office as 文大校友會新任會長 (sourced; 記者林蓮華, Taiwan Daily 2025-03-03). The 文大校友會 second-org role itself stays on the HOLD ledger of the 202503 month absorb (南加州文化大學校友會 無頁); this row records only what the article says about ACDA. See Taiwan Daily (post 65388, knowledge/web-archives/taiwandaily-net-65388-65388.md).

Historical Significance

The arts pillar of the SGV first generation — same vintage as RHCA and TAALA East SGV, and its record quietly documents the identity negotiation of that class: Chinese-classical canon as the respectable shell, with Taiwan aboriginal and Hakka dances programmed inside it, funded by 僑委會, cheered on by the 經文處, and run by teachers trained in Taipei. Thirty-seven years of one-night-only intergenerational showcases (ages 4–70s, seniors in the front row) is also the cleanest longitudinal record of the community’s children growing up.

Source Notes and Confidence

  • Epoch Times 2009 (gb, bylined 袁玫), 2023-02-07, 2026-04-04; Taiwan Daily 2023 (bylined 林蓮華); STC news/blog 2012 — independent ZH press multi-sourced across 17 years; founding year kept as ~1987–89 range (two anniversary computations disagree slightly; both printed).

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