Washington, D.C

How the annual lion dance draws Chinese Americans back to D.C.’s Chinatown

Published

2 years ago

February 9, 2024

How the annual lion dance draws Chinese Americans back to D.C.’s Chinatown

Harry Guey-Lee doesn’t go into D.C.’s Chinatown much these days. Although he grew up there, he mostly returns for occasional Washington Wizards games.

But every winter, the same activity draws him back: the lion dance at the Lunar New Year parade.

The performance, a vibrant spectacle meant to scare away evil spirits and bestow good luck, brings together Chinese Americans in the historic part of downtown where many of their parents and grandparents had lived and socialized. Year after year, families that have scattered to the suburbs reconnect with their heritage in a place that long ago ceased being a community focal point.

“We care about the little bit of connection we still have to our past and our parents and the cultural traditions that are part of Chinese culture,” said Guey-Lee, who lives in Silver Spring, Md. “It’s a little bit, but we hold on to that little bit.”

Guey-Lee, 73, is among roughly 50 members of the Chinese Youth Club who will step to a beat, play instruments and wave flags as part of a traditional lion dance at the parade Sunday. While several other lion dance troupes will also perform, the CYC’s team is the oldest in the District.

The dance is a family tradition for some. Guey-Lee’s father played the drums during the early years of the parade in the 1940s before passing the torch to his sons, who carried kung fu weapons, served as the lion’s tail and played the cymbals.

Now, the children of Guey-Lee and his brother also participate — and teach the next generation. People of all ages have a role: Toddlers carry flags, teens and young adults dance in the lion costumes, and older adults hold banners, play instruments and hand fortune cookies to spectators.

The origins of the lion dance, which dates at least from the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906), are disputed. One story tells of villagers scaring away a monster with an animal costume, firecrackers, and pots and pans. Another recounts an emperor who dreamed of an animal and ordered that it be re-created for festivals.

The resulting dance, which has roots in martial arts and is traditionally taught to boys, is an athletic endeavor that takes significant energy. During the parade’s half-hour performance, dancers rotate in and out of the lion costumes to give each person a break — especially from carrying the wooden heads, which can weigh up to 10 pounds.

“If you just jump in there and try to go 100 percent, you’re going to get tired really fast,” said Kevin Lee, Guey-Lee’s nephew and one of the co-directors of this year’s dance.

Technique is important, and the performers under each lion’s head and tail are instructed to make their movements lively, Lee said. The instrumentalists and dancers work in tandem, with the music cuing specific steps and the person under the lion’s tail following the dancer under the head.

The team rehearses eight to 10 times before the parade, with younger dancers practicing first at each session. When the older dancers get their turn, instructors teach more advanced moves and critique form. The performers do squatting exercises to prepare for some of their movements during the show.

Ada Stuyvenberg, 12, said the hardest part of being a lion in the parade is, well, acting like a real lion.

“You really have to do very quick movements, all while being smooth,” said Ada, who lives in Rockville, Md. “You can’t be like a robot.”

Her mom, Daphne Pee, learned about the dance troupe from a neighbor last year and was thrilled to find the kind of Chinese American community that she didn’t get to experience while growing up in Montgomery County. Now she plays cymbals in the parade while her children dance.

Pee, 46, said the activity helps her children stay connected to their Chinese culture.

“For the parents,” she said, “we’re trying to keep that alive in them.”

The old-timers ensure the troupe stays true to traditions, like “dotting the eyes” of each new lion head by dabbing red ink on various parts to bring it to life. When the team members leave a business after dancing there to bless it, they back out as a sign of respect, rather than turning away from the audience.

Virginia’s Vietnamese Americans get head start celebrating Lunar New Year

But in other ways, much has changed since Chinese immigrants established the CYC in Chinatown in 1939. When Guey-Lee’s father immigrated from Taishan, a city in China’s Guangdong province, the organization was one of few groups offering structured socialization opportunities for the neighborhood’s young people.

The CYC functioned like a Chinese YMCA, with volleyball tournaments and Chinese classes, among other activities. Each Lunar New Year, the organization’s lion dancers spent hours going store to store to bless Chinatown’s businesses while their owners lit firecrackers and gifted the performers cash in red envelopes.

Jack Lee, Guey-Lee’s brother, joined this tradition as a preteen and remains involved in the dance troupe decades later. While he doesn’t feel as Chinese as he would like, he said performing is a way of “staying connected to Chinatown, as well as staying connected to my culture.”

Unlike cities like New York and Toronto, D.C.’s Chinatown no longer feels particularly Chinese. Chinese architectural motifs still decorate shops and an archway celebrating the relationship between D.C. and its sister city of Beijing looms over H Street, but few Chinese immigrants live there.

Many residents began to move out of the area in the 1960s in search of better housing and business opportunities and lower crime rates, according to a report from the University of Maryland. The area became the focus of government renewal projects in the 1970s and ’80s, and after the sports arena now known as Capital One Arena was built in 1996, shops and restaurants catering to spectators flooded the area. Many long-standing businesses were priced out.

Lee and Guey-Lee felt those changes personally: The townhouse their parents lived in was razed for the arena’s construction. The neighborhood, Guey-Lee said, is “obviously a shell of what it once was 35, 40 years ago.”

Most people in Chinatown participated in the lion dance back then, he said, and attracting new performers was easy. Now, it’s harder to spread the word. The D.C. area’s Chinese Americans have scattered to the suburbs and don’t have as many organic opportunities to meet. Children are busier than in previous generations, and those who live outside the city need parents to drive them to dance practices.

Wally Lee, whose father was one of CYC’s founders, said many children a few generations removed from the immigrant experience feel more American than Chinese and may not know about the lion dance.

“It’s only through word of mouth or being involved in our club where they see it in person and they hopefully will have an interest to try it,” said Wally Lee, 75, who is not related to Jack Lee and his family. “So it’s tougher than back in the old days.”

The CYC tries to meet children where they are, recruiting players on the organization’s sports teams to the dance troupe and sharing the program at schools’ “international day” events. The lion dancers also perform at other events throughout the year.

Kevin Lee, 37, said the performance can be an avenue for young people to engage with their heritage in ways that feel less like work than learning Cantonese or Mandarin.

“There’s definitely Chinese school and things like that,” he said. “This is another way into the culture.”

The dance is also open to people without Chinese heritage. Organizers said they welcome anyone who wants to experience their traditions and have had people of other backgrounds join the group.

This year, one family of lion dancers is from Peru.

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Washington, D.C

Dechert Recruit Trio of Litigators From White & Case Washington DC Office

Published

7 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

Dechert Recruit Trio of Litigators From White & Case Washington DC Office

Dechert Law have boosted their Washington DC practice with the addition of three former White & Case lawyers with significant litigation experience in everything from government contracts to sports law.

The firm’s media statement making the announcement is below –

Dechert LLP continues to build on the momentum of its expanding litigation practice with the additions of Tara Lee, Scott Lerner and Melissa Taylormoore (pictured above). Their arrival bolsters the firm’s trial bench and significantly enhances the sports and gaming and government contracts practices. All three will be based in Dechert’s Washington, D.C. office and will be partners in the firm’s enforcement and investigations group.

“This year has been a defining one for Dechert’s growth, and the arrival of Tara, Scott and Melissa exemplifies our commitment to expanding our teams in service of our clients’ businesses,” said Dave Forti, co-chair of Dechert. “As we continue to welcome exceptional talent across our steeples of excellence, from investment management to litigation, additions like these are what elevate our platform to the next level.”

The three partners join Dechert from an international law firm, where Ms. Lee headed the trials practice, Mr. Lerner headed the U.S. sports and gaming practice and Ms. Taylormoore was the global head of the U.S. government contracts practice and co-chair of the defense working group.

“Joining Dechert has coincided with a period of growth for the firm, spanning both new geographies and sectors of the market. The firm has recently opened three new offices and complemented existing strengths while expanding its offerings. The arrivals of Tara, Scott and Melissa further deepen our government contracts and sports and gaming capabilities,” said Mike Poulos, vice chair and global head of strategy. “Tara’s arrival is especially meaningful to me, as she and I served together in leadership at a prior firm, and I am glad to be reunited with her at Dechert.”

Ms. Lee has a broad practice spanning complex commercial litigation, wrongful death and mass tort matters, arbitration enforcement, and corporate investigations. She has represented multinational companies, sovereign nations, public and private companies, funds and individuals across a broad range of industries. In 2017, Ms. Lee was named U.S. Trial Lawyer of the Year and is consistently ranked among leading litigation lawyers by Chambers USA. She has been recognized as a Pioneer and Trailblazer in Litigation by the National Law Journal, as one of the Ten Most Innovative Lawyers in the United States by the Financial Times and as one of the top investigations lawyers by Global Investigations Review. Prior to her legal career, she served as an officer in the United States Navy and was named the ATLA Outstanding Military Trial Lawyer while serving in the Navy JAG Corps.

“I am delighted to join Dechert alongside Scott and Melissa,” said Ms. Lee. “The firm’s commitment to this space, the quality of its people, and the strength of its client base made this a compelling opportunity, and we look forward to working on the most complex and consequential matters for clients.”

Mr. Lerner is a trial lawyer with significant experience in sports- and gaming-related disputes and a focus on complex commercial litigation, class actions, investigations and corporate crises. He regularly advises clients across the sports and gaming industries, including professional athletes and coaches, sports franchises, team owners, event organizers, sports charities, unions and online sports betting companies.

Ms. Taylormoore brings more than two decades of experience advising clients on government contracting and regulatory matters involving federal, state and local governments, including matters involving national security, defense, aerospace and dual-use technologies. She leads sensitive internal and cross-border investigations and advises boards and executive teams on governance, remediation and crisis response.

Ms. Lee, Mr. Lerner and Ms. Taylormoore are among more than 35 lateral partners Dechert has welcomed this year, reflecting the firm’s strategic goal of strengthening capabilities across its steeples of excellence in litigation, investment management, finance and restructuring, capital markets and securitization and mergers and acquisitions.

Dechert litigators win some of the largest and most complex, domestic and multijurisdictional disputes in the world. The firm’s global litigation practice is comprised of more than 350 lawyers across multiple offices, combining the knowledge and capabilities of former law clerks and government officials, experienced litigators and homegrown talent.

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Washington, D.C

Zac Brown Band headlining UFC Fan Fest ahead of White House fight

Published

20 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

Zac Brown Band headlining UFC Fan Fest ahead of White House fight

article

AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 18: Zac Brown Band perform onstage during the Uber One Rodeo on October 18, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Uber)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The heavyweight headliner for the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest this summer has officially been announced.

What we know:

Zac Brown Band will take the stage at The Ellipse, which is just south of the White House, on Saturday, June 13, at 9:30 p.m.

The free event will also include live shows with UFC athletes, celebrity appearances, meet-&-greets, immersive fan experiences and the UFC Freedom 250 Ceremonial Weigh-in. Gates will open at 3:30 p.m.

On Sunday, fans will gather once again at The Ellipse for a watch party as a series of fights take place in the Octagon on the South Lawn.

What you can do:

Tickets for UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest are available on Tuesday, April 21. However, fans can register for early access until Thursday, and will receive a link on Friday.

Dig deeper:

President Donald Trump is set to oversee the event as part of festivities marking the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.

The fight card for the landmark event was revealed last month, with lightweight champions Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje announced as the main event for a title unification bout.

The Source: Information from this article was provided by UFC.

America 250EntertainmentWashington, D.C.

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Washington, D.C

What is the most expensive housing rental market in the DC area?

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

What is the most expensive housing rental market in the DC area?

The Washington DC area is known as one of the most expensive parts of the country to rent a home, and renters across the region are feeling the squeeze as prices climb.

Where you live in the DMV can significantly impact your monthly rent, with some cities commanding far higher prices than others.

Zumper, a digital marketplace for rentals, recently released its report of the most and lease expensive cities in the DMV to rent a 1-bedroom home.

Here’s what to know.

What are the most expensive cities to rent in the Washington DC area?

It’s not DC, but rather Arlington, Virginia, that is the most expensive rental market in the area.

Zumper says the average 1-bedroom rent in Arlington is $2,459, around $200 more than DC, which has an average rent of $2,253 as of April 10.

Arlington’s price is actually down, according to Zumper. The April 2026 average rental cost is a 3% improvement from last year.

The most expensive neighborhood in Arlington is Clarendon Courthouse, the website says.

Two other Virginia cities — Alexandria and Falls Church — also have an average rent above $2,000. In Alexandria, renters can expect to pay around $2,255 monthly and Falls Church renters pay about $2,270 for 1-bedroom homes.

The average price in Bethesda, Maryland, nearly matches Arlington’s. At $2,447, it is the highest 1-bedroom average of DC’s Maryland suburbs.

Just outside Bethesda, the average rent in Chevy Chase for a 1-bedroom is $2,386.

What are the most affordable cities to rent in the Washington DC area?

Hagerstown, Maryland — about a 70-mile drive northwest from DC — is the most affordable city in the DMV, with average rent for a 1-bedroom at $995.

Winchester is the most affordable of DC’s Virginia suburbs with an average 1-bedroom rent of $1,400.

If you’re looking for an affordable rental in DC, Zumper says the Congress Heights, Brookland and Anacostia neighborhoods are the best options.

What are the rental trends nationally?

Apartmentlist.com says rent prices are down 1.7% from this time a year ago, a sign the market may be cooling slightly after years of steep increases.

Nationally, the median rent sits at $1,363.

This year was expected to be a good year for rent affordability, according to Zillow, which said in its 2026 housing market predictions that renters should see improvements.

“Rent affordability is expected to continue improving in most of the country after a year in which 37 of the 50 biggest markets saw incomes grow faster than rents,” Zillow said.

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