Youth Programs
Photos by Sandra Sellars© Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

ChinaFest 2024: Year of the Wood Dragon

ChinaFest: Year of the Wood Snake

Sat, Feb 8, 2025
10 am – 4:30 pm
Museum-wide

Free; No tickets or reservations required.

Celebrate 20 years of ChinaFest and learn about the Lunar New Year while participating in art activities and projects. Help build a collaborative Lego mosaic designed by Brickworkz. Create a paper plate fan, construct a paper cutting decoration, sculpt a clay snake—and more. Enjoy dance performances by Yu Dance Arts and Pacific Arts Troupe and music by Min Xiao-Fen and the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir. Discover Kung Fu with Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu and calligraphy with Dr. Jing Shui. Also make sure to experience the Lion Dance with Choy Wun Dance Troupe, Inc.

Generously sponsored by:

Genworth logo
The Rose Group for Cross-Cultural Understanding Logo

Schedule:

Leslie Cheek Theater – Show One: 10:30 am–11:50 am

10:15 am

11:50 am

THEATER DOORS OPEN FOR SEATING

Pacific Arts
Min Xiao-Fen
Yu Dance Arts
Choy Wun Lion Dance

THEATER CLOSED

Leslie Cheek Theater – Show Two: 1–2:10 pm

12:45 pm

2:10 pm

THEATER DOORS OPEN FOR SEATING

Pacific Arts
Min Xiao-Fen
Yu Dance Arts

THEATER CLOSED

Leslie Cheek Theater – Show Three: 3–4 pm

2:45 pm

4 pm

THEATER DOORS OPEN FOR SEATING

Kung Fu Workshop
Greater Richmond Children’s Choir
Choy Wun Lion Dance
Greater Richmond Children’s Choir

THEATER CLOSED

ATRIUM, Level 1 Performance

11 – 11:20am
Noon – 12:15 pm
1 – 1:15 pm
2 – 2:15 pm

Pacific Arts
Min Xiao-Fen
Yu Dance Arts
Choy Wun Lion Dance

Learn More about these Performances & Collaborations

Yu Dance Arts

Directed by Yu Xiao, Yu Dance Arts is a Richmond-based youth dance troupe that focuses on creating and producing intercultural dances that combine Chinese tradition with Western modern aesthetics.

Pacific Arts Troupe

Pacific Arts Troupe is a non-profit performance group in greater Richmond area that promotes the appreciation of Asian performing arts via dances, music, fashion shows, and martial arts.

Choy Wun Dance Troupe, Inc.

Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe, Inc. was founded in 2012, under the principles and mission of preserving and spreading Chinese cultural awareness through performance arts, particularly Lion Dancing.

Greater Richmond Children’s Choir

The Greater Richmond Children’s Choir brings together students from diverse backgrounds, inspiring them to experience the joy of singing and to develop a lifelong passion for music through age-appropriate vocal training.

Min Xiao-Fen

Min Xiao-Fen performs solo on pipa, ruan, sanxian and voice. Lauded by The New York Times as ‘a pipa player like no other,’ Min Xiao-Fen received a 2013 commission from the Smithsonian Institution to score two silent films.

Richmond Moy Yat Kung Fu

Watch and practice graceful warrior moves with Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu. This art was made popular in the 1950s by Grand Master Yip Man, whose best-known student is movie legend Bruce Lee!

Min Xiao-Fen

Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2,000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Min Xiao-Fen performs solo on pipa, ruan, sanxian and voice. Lauded by The New York Times as ‘a pipa player like no other,’ Min Xiao-Fen received a 2013 commission from the Smithsonian Institution to score two silent films. She has been selected as a mentor for GrammyU in 2023-2025.

Moy Yat Kung Fu

Watch and practice graceful warrior moves with Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu. This art was made popular in the 1950s by Grand Master Yip Man, whose best-known student is movie legend Bruce Lee!

Calligraphy Demonstration with Dr. Jing Shui

Join Dr. Jing Shui to witness the seamless transition from calligraphy brush strokes to paintings, with the beauty and techniques of traditional Chinese art. Jing Shui was born in Sichuan Province, China, and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2015. She earned her BFA and MFA in Design from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and holds a PhD in Chinese Fine Arts from the Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing.

Collaborative Project: Lego Mosaic with Brickworkz LLC

Join Brickworkz to participate in the creation of a community Lego Mosaic! Brickworkz LLC, established in 2006 by Award-winning artist Brian Korte, uses creativity to connect people to one another and create conversation pieces using LEGO parts as a unique medium.

Want to continue exploring and creating from home?  

Check the VMFA Learn Page to find museum resources, at-home activities, artist videos, and more!

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