In 2026, LRCCS community built a 25-ft, Asian-inspired Fortune and Longevity Dragon for the traditional dragon dance. It made its debut at Hill Auditorium and later performed at Comerica Park with the Detroit Tigers.

In this blog, outreach consultant Jennifer Lund, project lead Carol Stepanchuk, art director Ray Wetzel, and lead dancer Alice Yin shared their stories with the dragon. Read our blog to learn about the people, craft and performances behind this community art project.

When Alice Yin was invited to be a dancer for Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies (LRCCS), she did not know that she would lead a 25-ft long Fortune and Longevity Dragon traveling through Peony Garden and Children's Hospital, with Full Moon Festival crowds and the Detroit Tigers.

As a Chinese international student, dragon has a special connection with Alice: "We Chinese call us the descendent of the dragon. I was also born in 2000, so my zodiac is also a dragon."

But after "Dancing with the Dragon" for six months, it now conveys new layers of meanings for her.

"The dragon is living now because of all the people that made contributions to it," said Alice.

Build a reimagined dragon

For Alice, the most unique part is the female identity of this dragon, while traditional dragons are based on male figures.

"It stands for strengths and power. I connected that to myself. Being a woman can also be strong," said Alice.

Jennifer Lund, an outreach consultant for LRCCS, also finds "the girl dragon" inspiring, but in her view, everyone who meets the dragon can make their own interpretations.

Building the first feminist dragon is an idea of Zhen Guo, the artistic anchor of the project. An artist-in-residence with LRCCS, she is committed to the research and exploration of contemporary feminist art: "I choose to be a feminist artist. I want to get the voice out. I want to involve more artists either here or in China, mostly in China."

The feminist nature also leads to using recycled materials to build the dragon. In Chinese culture, there is a concept "mother earth" (地母), that relates the motherhood to the planet that we dwell on.

"It gave us a little extra reason to protect the earth," said Ray Wetzel, art faculty at U-M Residential College.

In winter 2026, Ray led 26 students from two mixed media sculpture classes to build the body of the dragon: cut T-shirt off and stitched them together, made wire baskets to hold the body, casting concrete into ice cream barrels to hold bamboo poles...

In Ray's view, the cycle of reusing better explains the spirit of the dragon, and its connection with the earth and sky.

Core builders holding the body of the dragon (back to front: Ray Wetzel, Deb Mexicotte, Jennifer Lund, and Jeri Rosenberg)

"We would want to protect and be a guardian of that," said him.

In Chinese tradition, family would collect clothes from neighbors and friends to make a hundred-family garment (百家衣), wishing to bring health and luck to the infant.

The dragon not only wears a colorful hundred-family garment made from recycled T-shirts, but also memories and best wishes from the Ann Arbor community.

Through collecting photos of families, friends, and pets, Carol Stepanchuk, outreach coordinator of LRCCS and project manager of "Dancing with the Dragon", hopes to build a multimedia dragon that better interacts with community members.

If scanning QR Codes on the dragon, it will take audiences to a recording of the music, which is supposed to be the dragon's voice.

Dance with the Dragon

After the Fortune and Longevity Dragon was completed in April, Carol built an eight-people dancing team, consisting of students, staff, and local residents. In the span of four months, they had eight performances across Michigan.

As the lead dancer, Alice has practiced different types of martial arts since she was six, including Taichi (太极), Bagua (八卦) and Xingyi (形意). In 2020, she took a gap year during COVID, and stayed at Wudang Mountain, birthplace of Taichi.

The year at Wudang was an interesting and unique experience for Alice and shaped her a lot. A U-M alum and staff member, she now also performs and tutor martial arts for local events in her free time.

Though Alice had never danced a dragon before, her martial arts expertise helped her better understand the dance, with the guidance of Master Han from Golden Kung Fu Academy in Grand Rapids: "I consider myself a mover. It's really fascinating how people can control every single muscle. I am still working toward it."

In performances, Alice held the pearl that was chased but never caught by the dragon. The dragon represents tremendous strength and power, while the pearl represents wisdom and good fortune.

“It’s similar to Chinese martial arts. No matter how many years you practice, there is always another level to reach,” she said.

For Alice, the most memorable moment from the performances would be the FoolMoon Festival. She remembers well how the team circled through streets, trees and crowds, and how everybody was laughing and watching.

"At that time I actually felt we were so connected that we were like one dragon that's moving together," said her.

Jennifer, holding the tail of the dragon at the Peony Garden performance, also enjoyed the laughter she brought to the audiences: "I made the tail go down, touching people on the head. It could be kind of playful. You could see people's faces smiling."

And a more special moment for Jennifer was the visit to the children's hospital. The dancers got special clearance to dance in the courtyard and the live performance was also broadcasted to patients in their rooms. Jennifer hoped the dragon would be a healing presence there.

Jennifer also never danced with a dragon before, and she joked the performances were like "a cardio workout."

"I would say the most challenging is the physical aspect of running. Because sometimes you run in the heat, run for over a mile, or go up and down trying not to fall over," said her.

While it could be challenging sometimes, she had a really great time with the other dancers and found joy and peace in the process.

And that is Carol's envision of the project throughout. "Here you are with this Asian-inspired dragon gliding through Ann Arbor, and so many different people become part of it."

Now, the dragon finds its new home at Weiser Hall for the upcoming month. This interactive art exhibit highlights the story behind the fabrication and performances, and hopes to bring joy and good luck to more people.

How to create a dragon with a life of its own?

Build a reimagined dragon

Dance with the Dragon