With their flowing costumes and stunning maneuvers, East Asian dance group Silk Motion shares their culture with the world and builds community through dance.

Silk Motion was formed over a year ago by seniors Sophia Wang, Tanya Clemens, Caroline Lou, Alex Qi and Terry Chang. They danced to the popular song “Xiao Ping Guo” every year for Chinese New Year at their church, the Chinese Gospel Church of Massachusetts in Southborough, until they decided to officially form a dance group. 

“We wanted to share and embrace our culture with the audience,” Wang said. 

Silk Motion has since performed at their church, the Northborough-Southborough Chinese New Year party, Sachem’s Haunted Coffeehouse and Algonquin’s Got Talent. The group won Algonquin’s Got Talent last year and were this year’s runners up. In the future, the group has plans to perform at the Panda Festival in Boston. 

“We’re definitely trying to do as many performances as we can,” Clemens said. 

Despite their prolific performances, none of the members have a formal background in dance, with Wang and Clemens only studying for a brief time at Angel Dance Company. However, the enjoyment of dancing with friends and their newfound success allowed for a shift in perspective. 

“Now, things have changed and we’re much more passionate about dance and Chinese dancing,” Wang said.

Although there is no defined group leader, Wang takes on a leadership role.

“I’m the one who usually finds all of the dances, music and compiles the audio,” Wang said. “Sometimes I search for costumes as well.”

In addition to the technical aspects, Wang also helps teach choreography to the rest of the members. 

“[Wang]’s really good at breaking down all of the moves and making it easier for us to remember them and do it correctly,” Clemens said.

Nevertheless, from figuring out logistics to decision-making to the group’s camaraderie, Silk Motion is not a solo project.

“Everyone contributes an equal amount to the group and helps each other out,” Wang said.

The group’s name is one such example. They originally went through many ideas for their naming process and tried a pig motif inspired by their Chinese zodiac signs: Hot Pot Heat, Hot Pot Pigs, Ping Pong Pigs, Fire Pigs and Flying Pigs were all suggestions. Ultimately, none of the pig ideas were liked by all members. 

“[Chang] wanted to do Silk Motion because the [pig ideas] that [Wang] wanted to do were cringey,” Clemens said. 

A few weeks before they perform, Silk Motion usually practices at a member’s house or in the Black Box Theater. 

“We put a lot of work in at the very start to learn all the dances,” Clemens said. “After that, it gradually got easier. The more we figured out how to work together as a group, the better we got at dancing.”

As their performances incorporate music, preparation involves the struggle of choosing songs that satisfy everyone. 

“We want to choose dances that everyone in our group would enjoy performing, but also ones that our audience will recognize,” Clemens said.

According to Wang, Silk Motion recently danced to a sword dance with prop swords to “cater to the masculinity of the male members.”

Some other songs they have performed  include “Gong Xi Gong Xi” by Chen Ge Xin, “Kang Kang Kang” by Half Ton Brothers, and “APT.” by Rosé. 

“Sometimes we’ll change it up,” Clemens said. “If we know we’re performing at our church with people ranging from little kids to adults, then a good choice is ‘Xiao Ping Guo’ because everyone knows it.”

They find their songs and corresponding dances from YouTube or the Chinese social media platform Rednote. Although most of the choreography is derived directly from online, the group modifies it when needed. For example, at their recent Algonquin’s Got Talent performance, Wang choreographed the ending with a jump. 

“It was scary at first, but it was quite fun throwing yourself in the air and just hoping for the best,” Wang said.

Even though Silk Motion’s roots are in Chinese dance, the group does not limit themselves to only their culture. 

“We want to venture out and do not only traditional, but also K-pop and other genres,” Wang said. 

In addition, Silk Motion transcends its performative aspects—the members value the group because of the people who support them. 

“When we perform at church, a lot of our friends in the youth group and the younger kids are with us when we’re practicing beforehand,” Clemens said. “It’s really fun to see everyone get together.” 

Clemens in particular finds much delight during Silk Motion’s performances. 

“I like seeing the audience cheer and seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces after we perform,” Clemens said.

Silk Motion also appeals to different communities during their performances. 

“If we’re at school, a lot of our friends are just happy to see us up there,” Clemens said. “If we’re in a Chinese community, they’ll recognize a lot of the songs.”

Silk Motion extends beyond their age bracket to younger kids as well. During a performance at their church, kids watch the group earnestly. 

“There’s this one boy who was really inspired by us and wanted to learn the dance with us while we performed,” Wang said. “I thought that it was really sweet to share the passion and teach the next generation.” 

Clemens also reflects fondly on the moment. 

“It was really cool to watch, and it showed how it brought a lot of people to come together,” Clemens said. 

This story was originally published on The Harbinger on April 16, 2025.