Storytelling and lion dance performance for kids age 3+
Five Blessings with Amanda Sum, Fluffy and Friends Lion Dance
Fluffy Blessings is a 45-minute hybrid event for kids three years and older. In addition to a story performed by six actors with Five Blessings Collective, there will be an appearance by Fluffy and Friends Lion Dance. We are so excited about this event that features whimsical gender non-binary creatures and encourage you to book off a little extra time since we’re across the street from a really fun playground!
This event is FREE for everyone but if you have funds, we welcome donations that support the event. There is extremely limited capacity, so we encourage early registration. We won’t want to turn folks away, so thanks for registering when you’re certain about attending.
Star athlete Faye, a fifth-generation dragon boat drummer, has a secret passion for playing music in the band, Skyhorns. When the Skyhorn’s biggest gig yet – opening for Manta Del Rey – falls on race day of the Dragon Boat Festival, our hero is faced with an impossible decision: fulfill traditions, or forge a new path. Faye seeks wisdom from the immortalized Chinese poet, 屈原 (Qu Yuan). With so much on the line, how will our young dragon choose? Will they sync, oar, swim?
Heidi Damayo, Aidan Chan, Katrina Teitz, Jasmine Chen, Conor Wylie, Anjela Magpantay
Fluffy the Lion, who is a genderqueer lion inhabiting Coast Salish Territories, will follow the Five Blessings storytelling circle with playful antics for all to enjoy! Some insights from Fluffy’s family about Fluffy’s lion dancing: “A lion is two people and everything that we are, connected by friendship and dancing for joy. Here's to a future generation of outstanding lion dancers of all genders!" (Kalum Ng).
Five Blessings is composed of five Chinese Canadian artists from disciplines spanning theatre, sound and music, movement and performance. We are Nancy Tam, Derek Chan, Robyn Jacob, Jasmine Chen, and Howard Dai – five first- and second-generation Hong Kong and Taiwanese settlers to Turtle Island. We create work that reveals the latent and lived narratives of the Chinese diaspora settled in North America with a specific focus on Hong Kong and Taiwanese cultures. Dedicated to serving diasporic communities, we honour communal narratives and celebrate unique nuances from individual histories.
Amanda Sum (she/her) is a performer and creator who dances between theatre and music. Amanda has collaborated on many interdisciplinary theatre-based works, which have brought her to perform and present works at the Smush Gallery (Jersey City), On The Boards (Seattle), Fury Factory Festival of Ensemble and Devised Theatre (San Francisco), and Summerworks (Toronto). As an actor, Amanda’s recent credits include 4 seasons of the East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement), and Sense and Sensibility (The Arts Club). Amanda's debut indie-pop album, New Age Attitudes, was released in the fall of 2022. Her music video, Different Than Before (directed by Mayumi Yoshida), was JUNO-Nominated for Music Video of the Year, and won the SXSW Music Video Jury Award (2023). As Theatre Replacement’s COLLIDER Artist, Amanda created New Age Attitudes: Live in Concert. Part pop-up book, part performance, this experimental theatre piece premiered in the spring of 2023, and is touring this year. Amanda holds a BFA from SFU.
Fluffy and Friends Lion Dance is a community lion dance team centered around the value of culture, inclusivity, and community building. We aim to share and connect with our traditional Chinese culture, build community, and advocate for social justice through lion dancing.
