Meet Roger Look

Today we’d like to introduce you to Roger Look.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I developed a keen interest for the traditional art of Chinese lion dance at an early age. Traditionally, lion dancing is performed by kung fu organizations and one would have to enroll in their kung fu program in order to learn the lion dance. At the age of seven, my dad and I enrolled in a kung fu association and every Saturday afternoon we would attend class. This helped me develop a strong fundamental understanding of the art and the technical skills required for performing the lion dance.

In 2008 I moved to San Diego for college and that is where I joined the UC San Diego campus club “Lion Dance at UCSD”. The club was in its early years and I envisioned it to be more than just a scholastic organization. I rebranded the team to “Southern Sea Lion Dance” and I reached out to other teams in California to learn and further develop our program. As the club grew in size, so did its reputation in the San Diego community. I began booking more performances and eventually, there was so much membership interest that I took it off the UCSD campus and opened it to allow community members to join.

My group is now known as the Southern Sea Kun Seng Keng Dragon and Lion Dance Association and is one of the most reputable cultural arts groups in San Diego. I am proud of all the challenges I have overcome and the friends made along the way. I vow to continue the mission of enriching the community through the cultural arts.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the greatest obstacles I faced when starting this organization was competition from other established lion dance groups in San Diego. Our group was essentially the “new kid on the block”. Generally, the Asian community did not know who we were and we were never the first group to be contacted for performances. However, I never let that deter me. I always told my members to never focus about the size of the performance but instead focus on having good fundamentals and techniques. This principle along with having a strong support staff allowed us to develop a reputation for always being able to deliver top-quality performances. Our clients know that regardless of their budget, we will always provide them with a professional grade performance.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I currently sit on the board of directors for the USA Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Association as the director of operations. This organization was founded with the goal of connecting teams across the country top develop a supportive network. It aims to help teams improve their skills and hopefully move on to compete in international competitions.

I am extremely honored to have been given this role and I bring to the table years of experience in corporate strategy and data analytics. My goal is to help organize events to promote harmony and brotherhood among the different lion dance groups.

Any big plans?
The onset of Covid-19 was a major blow to my organization. Not only did we suffer financially but we were also unable to train and develop new members. My short-term goal is to get Southern Sea back to its full potential. This entails training the current generation and developing the next group of youth leaders. As for 2022, I have a lot of exciting plans in the pipeline, which includes participating in the National Lion Dance Competition, so please follow our Instagram or Facebook for updates.

Contact Info:

• Email: southernseald@gmail.com
• Website: http://www.sdliondance.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southernsea_ld/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ssliondance/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/southernseald
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/southern-sea-lion-dance-san-diego-2

Image Credits
Bobby Gian