Taoli World North America Grand Finals Celebrate Excellence in Chinese Dance
IRVINE, CA — From July 5 to 7, the 2024–2025 Taoli World North America Grand Finals, hosted by the Pan America Chinese Dance Alliance (PACDA), concluded successfully at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Southern California. As one of the most prestigious Chinese dance competitions in North America, the event showcased hundreds of outstanding dancers from across the United States and Canada, all of whom had advanced through regional semifinals held earlier this year in New York, Vancouver, and an online division.
The Grand Finals featured three divisions—children, youth, and adult—with participants ranging in age from 5 to over 60. Performances spanned various styles, including Chinese ethnic and folk dance, classical and contemporary Chinese dance, ballet, and modern dance. The competition emphasized not only technical skill but also artistic expression, cultural understanding, and originality. The atmosphere was rich with cultural heritage, showcasing both the technical excellence and modern interpretations of traditional Chinese aesthetics by the younger generation.
The judging panel featured 18 distinguished experts from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., including frontline educators and internationally acclaimed choreographers and dancers. Their detailed feedback not only raised the professional standard of the competition but also offered participants valuable insight and opportunities for further development on the international stage.
At the awards ceremony press conference, PACDA Board of Supervisor Ms. Wang Xingyue shared that this year’s finals were particularly inspiring. She highlighted the introduction of the “teacher-judge system,” which replaced the traditional expert-only panel to ensure fairness and to enhance the educational impact of the event. “With both competitions and masterclasses, participants showed remarkable growth. This would not have been possible without the dedicated instruction from teachers and the hard work of our judges,” Wang said. “Through the ‘dandelion effect’ of the Taoli Cup, we hope Chinese dance can take root and flourish across the globe.”
Organizers also emphasized that the Taoli World competition is more than a contest—it is a cross-cultural and cross-generational platform for exchange. On this stage, dancers, teachers, families, and communities come together to witness artistic growth and cultural transformation.
The awards ceremony was attended by various Orange County elected officials, including Irvine City Councilmember Melinda Liu, Community Outreach Director Brian See on behalf of U.S. Congressman Dave Min, Chief of Staff and Yorba Linda City Councilmember/Former Mayor Tara Campbell and Community Affairs Director Saga Conroy on behalf of Supervisor Don Wagner, Irvine Mayor Larry Agran’s Executive Assistant Scotty Hong, and former Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan. They praised the dancers’ exceptional talent and recognized PACDA’s efforts in promoting Chinese traditional dance worldwide.
At the awards ceremony, top-scoring works from the three semifinals were presented live to enthusiastic applause. These included “A Glimpse of Green” by Zhao Li Dance School (Vancouver), “Recall the Past” by Cao Lei (New York), and “Women Warriots” by South Coast Chinese Cultural Association Dance Group (online semifinal).
The Taoli World Dance Competition was founded by renowned dance educator Professor Pan Zhitao, who also created the original Taoli Cup in China. Organized by the Pan America Chinese Dance Alliance (PACDA), the competition was launched in 2017 with the goal of discovering and cultivating new talent while extending the legacy of the prestigious 35-year-old Taoli Cup to the global Chinese diaspora. Today, it stands as a major platform for promoting the growth, innovation, and international reach of Chinese dance.
PACDA Co-Founder and Executive Director Ms. Cheer Pan concluded the event by affirming the alliance’s mission: “We will continue to nurture dancers with both artistic excellence and cultural depth through competitions, training programs, and project support. Our goal is to promote, preserve, and innovate Chinese dance on the world stage.”
