ABOUT OCA CULTURAL AFFAIRS

      OCA Pittsburgh chapter is the only chapter nationally with VP Cultural Affairs serving in the Board. This position was established back in the early 1990's and it's mission is to promote and educate Chinese culture in this community.

      The current VP Cultural Affairs is Chia-Pih Shaw who has been serving in this position since 1994. She has been actively involved in teaching and promoting Chinese cultural and dances in Pittsburgh area for more than 20 years. Her teaching experience includes local schools as well as at CMU and Penn State.

      She established cultural youth groups called“OCA Youth Performance Ensemble”and a pre-teen class, called“The Lotus Blossom”. Under her direction, these cultural groups have been active in many local events, such as Chinese New Year Banquets,“Hot Pink Pittsburgh”(a fundraising event for uninsured cancer women), Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Cultural Awards Celebration, Pittsburgh Folk Festival, Celebrate the Season Holiday parade, First Nights, and many other fundraising events. In this May, the group is invited to perform at the Benedum Center to support the annual Pittsburgh Opera fundraising event.

      Currently, the cultural youth group consists of 26 teen and 10 pre-teen members. These youngsters received free dance lessons as part of OCA membership and outreach program benefits. Through this program, these youngsters have received numerous community service recognitions, including the Congressional Awards.
(www.congressionalaward.org) The current captain is Stephanie Kuo and Co Captains is Jessica Yu.

LOTUS BLOSSOM

       The Lotus Blossom Pre Teen Dance Ensemble is a group of young ladies who are interested in exploring the Chinese culture through the art of Chinese dance. Their name reflects the purity and simple beauty that both the girls and the Lotus Blossom flowers represent. The Ensemble is sponsored by the OCA and taught by the OCA Vice-President of Cultural Affairs, Chiapih Shaw, who is helped by youth dancers Darlene Tzou and Stephanie Kuo.

OCA YOUTH PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLE

       This is a group of enthusiastic teens, between the ages of 13 to 18, who are OCA Youth members interested in learning Chinese dances and other Chinese folk arts. This group is fully supported by OCA and led by OCA VP Cultural Affairs, Chiapih Shaw. The objective is to educate and share with these Chinese American teens the glory, splendor and richness of the Chinese heritage and to promote Chinese culture events in this community.

       The current leaders for this group are Captain Stephanie Kuo and Co Captain Jessica Yu.