APPLETON, Wis. — April marks Hmong Heritage Month and throughout Wisconsin communities, the goal is to share this culture.

The Long Cheng Dance Academy gathers every Sunday to practice the art of Hmong traditional dance. 

Launched only this year, community leaders found the need to offer classes to keep the younger generation involved in their culture and create a greater sense of community. 

Girls from ages five and older currently make up the more than 70 member dance academy.

Long Cheng Dance Academy is accepting more dancers, both boys and girls. 

Duabci Vang has danced Hmong traditional dance for most of her life. She leads and instructs each participant.

“We don’t know most of our history, just simply because of it being erased through war and such things like that,” said Vang. “So what we can preserve, is what we [will] do.”

Through graceful steps and traditional pieces of clothing, each song is carefully chosen to learn not only a dance but history from an older generation.

“They literally learn through music,” said Vang. “[We] push them to say, ‘Why?’ They see the importance of it, and through dancing it has changed throughout time simply because where we are in the world. We consider this more modern Hmong dancing compared to how it used to be, but that really shows you where we went into different parts of the world.”

According to the Wisconsin Department of Heath Services, Wisconsin has the third largest Hmong population in the country. California and Minnesota having the top two populations.

“Appleton is home to many of us, and this is our home too,” said Maiyoua Thao, founder of the Long Cheng Dance Academy. “Our culture is here and we want to keep continuing to celebrate our culture just like any other culture that we have here, not just Hmong culture.”

The dance academy is gearing up for their first official performance next month.

For more information on Long Cheng Dance Academy upcoming events, or to get involved, click here.