This 广场舞 public square dancing group formed in October of 2020. Since AsiaTown has no public plaza or park, the square dancers dance in a vacant parking lot, across from a now-closed supermarket. AsiaTown community members lead the team, practicing and learning dances. After dancing throughout the fall and the spring, they have shifted the narrative, referring to the parking lot as the Square Dancing parking lot. This activity has turned into so much more than dancing; it has formed community bonding, passion to support small businesses, healing circles, mental health resources, and civic engagement. During one healing circle, they spoke loudly, “I’m beautiful, and I know it!.”
Square Dancing in AsiaTown
MidTown Cleveland
Cleveland, OH