The Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (FASCA) in the San Francisco Bay Area held their 2021 In-person Training at the Cultural Office in San Francisco (Milpitas) on August 14th, 2021. Ms. Carol Ma is the founder of Artysian studio, and has a background of professional opera. She taught the Yi dance to FASCA students, encouraging them to sign up for the Confucius Memorial Ceremony Yi dance. Due to the class, there was an enormous interest in signing up for the dance. As a result, the majority of prospective participants of the Confucious Memorial Ceremony Yi dance this year will be FASCA students.
A highlight of the program was the Yi dance lecture, taught by Ms. Carol Ma. She has been the instructor of the Yi dance for the annual Confucious memorial ceremony since 1998. Coincidentally in recent years, the Confucius Memorial Ceremony has been hosted at the Cultural Office in San Francisco (Milpitas). FASCA was very lucky to have been able to invite her to teach an hour long crash course on the topic. For years, FASCA students have attended the Confucious memorial ceremony as dancers, deacons, and musicians. However, this was the first time that the Yi dance was formally taught during FASCA training.
Despite being a tradition heavy topic, students warmly welcomed Teacher Ma and practiced the dance steps in unison with no hesitation. FASCA lead advisor Tony Chen encouraged students to sign up for the year’s ceremony. At the time of the class, there were only ten spots left on the official ceremony team. By the end of the day, all the remaining spots had been filled by FASCA students who had developed an interest in the dance after the hour long lecture. This year, FASCA lead advisor Tony Chen also happens to be the Chair of the Confucius Memorial Ceremony Committee.
FASCA's 2021 In-person new member training was held on both August 14th and 15th. 80 students attended the program, with the closing ceremony being held on August 15th. Students learned a lot from the various unique classes, such as stamp carving and book sewing. There was a very good reaction to the program.
