Angel Dance Youth League is Spreading Its Impact to Our Communities!

Date: 3/31/26

Since its inception as part of Angel Dance Company (est. 2001), Angel Dance Youth League (ADYL) has made large strides towards participation in local social and community events, leaving a lasting and profound impact on our communities. Below are a few highlights.

A variety of performances brought the beauty of Chinese Folkloric Dance to our communities. 

In 2025, ADYL:

• Supported more than 40 community events

• Performed for more than 60,000 people cumulatively

• Covered the entire state geographically, from the east part of Massachusetts (Boston) to the west (Springfield), visiting more than 30 cities and towns (see the heat map below)

In 2026, ADYL continued its active community engagement. During the first quarter alone, ADYL has already organized more than 30 events, attracting approximately 10,000 audience members and leaving a profound trail in its wake. 

Our featured examples of community activities include performing at Boston Celtics Games (~2 times/year) and Boston First Night, supporting Lunar New Year celebrations at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Boston City Hall among many other locations, and providing free dance shows or interactive group lessons to the youth and elderly. Our regional, national, and international championship winners love the opportunity to bring Chinese dance to a new floor or stage; their passion to bring the elegance, grace, and richness of Chinese dance to tens of thousands of audience members across Massachusetts continuously shines through and through.  

These performances, whether group ensembles, solos, duets, or trios, are always “captivating” in our audience’s terms and a “must-see” in festive events. No matter how small the group of performers, one thing remains constantly at large: the sheer joy our dancers bring to the stage through their stunning routines and sparkling energy. Year after year, ADYL has been featured and invited back to perform at significant events throughout the Greater Boston area before a large crowd of diversified audiences. Our graduating senior Juliet Dong, who will attend Harvard University in the fall, has danced at festivals in Lexington, Massachusetts, multiple times and had her outstanding performances featured twice in a row in the Lexington Times Magazine. Over the years, features like these have helped ADYL develop a media presence for the work it has done and the performances it has brought to the community. 

ADYL’s parent organization, Angel Dance Company, is the only Chinese dance organization in the great Boston area that has received the attention of major news media such as CBA news, Boston Globe, and WWPL 22 News, in consecutive years.  

• CBS news: "Wonderful atmosphere"; People gather for daytime New Year's Eve celebrations - CBS Boston

• Boston Globe: First Night Boston 2025: New Year's Eve festivities are underway

• WWPL 22 News: 3rd Annual Lunar New Year Gala Returns to Springfield

• WWPL 22 News: Lunar New Year celebrated at Springfield's cultural fair

Members of ADYL have also been teaching assistants who coach, correct, and guide younger dancers through dance skills as they grow and develop. Their attention to the details of dance postures and patience on tedious routines set role models for little dancers, guiding them toward precision, persistence, and pride. 

Every year, over twenty ADYL members receive the Presidential Voluntary Service Award (PVSA) for their achievements in service to the community and the hours they dedicate to growth and improvement. Through service in dance, character, and leadership, ADYL’s members embody the core of its values: using dance and education as a bridge to bring cultural assets and care to the community and society and to promote healthy youth growth and development.

Consistent and honorable community events organized by ADYL for our senior citizens brought joy and promoted their emotional health.

As per ADYL’s tradition, dancers work with location liaisons in order to organize dance shows in senior centers, retirement homes, adult day health centers, etc. In February 2026 alone, ADYL delivered six stunning shows to senior citizens across Massachusetts, with five delivered during winter break; our dancers aging from 8 to 18 years old sacrificed their rest time to bring happy moments to our senior communities.

One new activity of these shows is interactive dance with seniors to teach them basic dance movements. The main organizer of these performances, ADYL’s Department Head of External Affairs Michelle Liu, spent a tremendous number of hours coordinating these events, from scheduling the shows to the logistics of each one and to following up after each performance. She said that it is truly touching to know that “these intergenerational activities boost the emotional wellbeing of the seniors and may support their brain health”. Michelle is joined by other fellow organizers (Olivia Bao, Hailey Zhao, Grace Fang, Betsy Li, etc) and many other performers, including “veterans” like Penelope Fok, who is highly committed to social events and joined each of these events. 

Michelle Liu and Hailey Zhao

Each event is full of joy, smiles, and praise --- as a result, these performances and group activities always received the best possible remarks from the seniors. Our post-performance evaluation indicated that, among 56 seniors who responded to our evaluation form, 94.6% loved the show and the remaining 5.4% liked our show; in addition, 94.3% felt happier after watching our performance. ADYL is thrilled to have the opportunity to build the bridge between younger and older generations and see its efforts come to success. Senior citizens (including veterans) have contributed their lives to build our communities, and our ADYL members carry the torch to give back this joy and lighten up their days. 

When asked what seniors like the most, comments received include: “perfect as is”, “put a tear in my eyes”, and “everything was beautiful!”

We are sincerely grateful for the donating organizations and individuals who support our community activities. One donor said, “We donate to ADYL in recognition and support of the excellent services and performance your group provides to the community in general.”

These community events’ success cannot happen without the ADYL leadership team’s collaboration. They also impact our young dancers by affording them with the opportunity to learn community engagement and grow leadership. 

Our public relations and external affairs departments maintained and expanded our reach and collaboration with community organizations. For the community events, our graphic design department contributed to the design of event flyers, while our social media department shared timely event updates. This collaboration truly reflects ADYL’s mission of promoting a sense of community within and beyond our dance company.

ADYL also creates a valuable opportunity for our youth league members to grow and apply leadership skills. Participants learned how to interact with adults and professionals, how to efficiently engage with team members, how to align goals and effectively collaborate, how to time manage their business schedules, and much more. One audience member complimented the host of one Senior Center performance show, saying “Your focus, discipline, grace, clarity of thought, eloquence in speaking, and respect for tradition as well are evident.”

Our graduating seniors have been deeply involved in community services, either taking leadership roles at ADYL or actively participating in community events. Many of them started at a very young age, having grown up alongside ADYL and its community. They are heading to top universities including Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, and UPenn. Congratulations to our seniors, and thank you for your hard work!

Last but not least, as a strong believer and supporter of community service, ADYL’s Director and Principal Ms. Ke Ke received a citation from the Massachusetts Speaker of the House and State Representative, which recognized her “extraordinary artistic excellence and steadfast commitment advancing Chinese cultural heritage through performance.” We look forward to continuing our journey of community service through dance, impacting more individuals and families!