Golden Dragon Acrobats

The Torrance Cultural Art Center presents a performance by The Golden Dragon Acrobats from Hebei.

Direct from Hebei, China, The Golden Dragon Acrobats represent the best of a time-honored tradition that began more than 25 centuries ago. The Golden Dragons are recognized throughout the United States and abroad as the premiere Chinese acrobatic company touring today. The companys reputation is rooted in a commitment to the highest of production values and an attention to artistic details that is unparalleled in the art form. World-renowned impresario Danny Chang and choreographer Angela Chang combine award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance, spectacular costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques to present a show of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty.

Lien Chi Chang officially established the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats in 1967 with his family whose member included Danny Chang, his sister and other students. From 1967 to 1984, Lien Chi led the company to numerous performances in different nations. The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats dazzled audiences range from 8 years old kids to 80 years old seniors all across the globe. Danny Chang, often traveled with his father’s Golden Dragon Acrobats, was later chosen by the National Acrobats Troupe of Republic of China to lead the various world tour produced by the most prestige acrobat school in Taiwan.

After more than 17 years of apprenticeship under his dad and several years of world tour, Danny Chang was ready to step up as the President of the Golden Dragon Acrobats when Lien Chi Chang accepted the head coaching job at the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts.

As a young entrepreneur, Danny showed tremendous passion toward the acrobatic arts. His first goal was to reorganize the company from a small group to a world renowned production company. He chose the United States of America as his starting point. With Mr. Bill Fegan’s assistances, the Golden Dragon Acrobats debuted in 1985.

Today, the Golden Dragon Acrobats have been recognized as the preeminent Chinese acrobatic company in the United States. As the director and the producer, Danny Chang has built a solid reputation based on his talents as both an acrobatic performer and artistic director. Every year, along with the choreographer, also his wife, Angela Chang, attend different acrobatic competitions to constantly select the most elite performers to join the Golden Dragon Acrobats.

Touring History
Since 1985, not only the Golden Dragon Acrobats toured North American continuously, it also had copious resident shows featured in theme parks across the United States for many years. Furthermore, in 1990s, the Golden Golden Dragon Acrobats 2Dragon Acrobats received exceptional reviews from their European Tour 3 years consecutively.

In 1998, due to the popular demand, the Golden Dragon Acrobats restructured itself and formed Asian Artists Production, Inc. or AAPI. In the next 10 years, AAPI continued to produce the Golden Dragon Acrobats and also created other shows for different markets. Some of these productions included the Amazing Chinese Acrobats, Circo Magnifico, Dream, Pagoda, Cirque D’or and etc…

Through out the history of the Golden Dragon Acrobats, the company has performed in all fifty states, including repeated performances in all 48 lower states. On average, the Golden Dragon Acrobats presents over 200 performances each year at 100 to 200 venues across the United States. The Golden Dragon Acrobats also has separated itself from the majority of Chinese acrobatic companies touring the United States by emphasizing their artistic merit, cultural exchange. Moreover, the company spends more than one third of its tour in participating community and youth outreach program.

Awards and Recognitions
The Golden Dragon Acrobats count among their distinctions being a seven-time recipient of the National Association of Campus Activities Entertainer of the Year Award, the Campus Activities Today’s Performer of the Year Award and, most recently, two most prestigious New York Drama Desk Award nominations for their Broadway performances. In recent years, individual members of the Golden Dragons have been recipients of awards at the Henan Regional Acrobatic Competition, the China National Acrobatic Competition, the National Teen Acrobatic Competition, the Italian National Acrobatic Competition, the International Young Adult Acrobatic Competition in Japan and the Presidents Award at the International Acrobatic Competition, and have performed for President Bill Clinton and other leaders at the APEC meeting in Shanghai, China.