Support Hmong Dancers' Cultural Preservation

With no practice facilities and unsure of the future of Hmong dance in general, the parents of a little Hmong dance group agreed to disband. However, the little girls had built a strong bond with their new dance sisters and had already solidified their love for Hmong dancing. So when the parents attempted to shut the door on this Hmong dance team, the little girls placed their foot down to keep the door open and swore to keep going with or without the support of their parents. Their resilience to sustain the group and determination to continue was so moving that the parents got together, pooled their resources and worked with the coaches to form an organization that would cater to Hmong dance; Hmong Culture and Arts Preservation was born.

With no funding, the girls ended up holding practice in random spaces and the garages of the dancers’ homes. Soon enough, word had gone out that a dance organization had been established and parents who wanted their children to embrace their Hmong heritage came knocking/looking for dance lessons. With a heart of gold, the coach resonated with the parents and HCAP opened their doors for Hmong dance enrollment.

A few years later, a single team of eight turned into five teams of fifty, increased to nine groups of a hundred and now stands at 160 dancers (of various ethnicities: Hmong, Lao, Mien, Cambodian, Filipino, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Vietnamese) across ten teams.

Regardless of enrollment and the move to preserve the Hmong arts, the goal had always been to keep the lessons free so the children who are predominantly from underserved communities have an opportunity to learn Hmong dance. Large numbers meant the need for bigger facilities that are not free. Therefore a small fee is collected during registration to lease the practice hall to cover a part of the year. Fundraisers are put in place to offset the remainder of the lease and donations are sought to help purchase 320 outfits.

Each year we are at the mercy of local generous organizations who help with what they can. This year, to meet us halfway, a donor has kindly vowed to match any donations we get up to $5000 by July 1st. This is where you can help these 160 dancers. Please consider donating any amount and spend a moment of your time to share this gofundme so we can reach the goal and get the full match. Visit our Facebook page “Hmong culture and Arts Preservation” to see all the amazing work our coaches do, the community engagements we have been a part of and the dozens of local venues where we share the beauty of Hmong culture. Thank you for your time and we sincerely appreciate you for your help.