performance Requests

To request a performance, please fill out our Request Form.

Be sure to review this page, first!

About Performance Requests (Frequently Asked Questions)

How much does a performance cost?

Lion Dance

USD $550

Dragon Dance

USD $550

Subject to performer availability

Both (Lion + Dragon)

USD $650

Subject to performer availability

Standard Rate

We request a standard donation of USD $550 for either a lion dance or a dragon dance.

For both a lion dance and a dragon dance, we request a donation of USD $650.

Events subject to this donation include (but are not limited to) events which:

Examples include (but are not limited to) company events, corporate events, private events, store openings, and weddings.

Out of respect for our many patrons, amounts are non-negotiable.

Donation Waivers

In many cases, we will waive our donation request for events which align with our educational mission. These events are typically for public schools, public libraries, cultural events, high school student organizations, and college student organizations which are:

If you believe that you qualify, please let us know when requesting a performance.

Donations to Cover Long-Distance Expenses

For performances outside of Austin, we may request an additional donation to cover transportation expenses. Our request will vary depending on the distance. Please contact us for an estimate.

Donations to Cover Additional Fees

We may may request an additional donation for credit card payments to cover transaction fees.

How long is a performance?

A TDDT lion dance performance is typically 10-15 minutes long.

A TDDT dragon dance performance is typically 10-15 minutes long.

As always, our client contact team will make every effort to fulfill special requests. Due to the high energy and intensity of our performances, and to ensure the safety of our performers, we will generally decline requests for longer performances. However, our client contact team may be able to arrange a creative solution (with a corresponding additional donation).

When are you available to perform?

Please check our performance calendar to ensure that we are not already booked during your desired time slot.

In General: Evenings and Weekends

Our team is comprised of a combination of UT students and working professionals. We are typically unavailable to perform on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Our performances require both a minimum number of performers as well as our equipment and we have been unsuccessful at arranging daytime weekday performances.

That being said, we have had some limited success in scheduling early morning (7:45 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.) performances for some elementary schools. Please understand that while we will make every effort to accommodate your request, early morning performances stand a lesser chance of being accepted than evening or weekend performances.

Throughout the Year

As a significant portion of our team consists of UT Austin students, your chances of having a request accepted are greater during the school year (other than breaks and finals). Please review UT Austin's academic calendars for details. The Fall Term and Spring Term are generally your best bet.

Lunar New Year

For performance requests during our high-demand lunar new year season (in the early spring) we strongly encourage you to review our performance calendar and submit your request as far in advance as possible. While we will make every effort to accommodate your request, please understand that many of our clients request lunar new year performances anywhere from one month to one year in advance.

Special Requests

Do you perform outside of the City of Austin?

Sometimes!

While we do occasionally perform outside of Austin, such performances incur additional costs including transportation, fuel, wear and tear, as well as opportunity cost.  We may request an additional donation to cover transportation expenses. The out-of-town donations vary depending on travel distance, the date of the event, and the availability of our performers.

Our client contact team will make every effort to fulfill special requests.

Do you offer/accept donations in kind?

No.

Our team does not offer performances as in-kind donations, in-kind contributions, nor in-kind gifts.

Our team does not accept in-kind donations, in-kind contributions, nor in-kind gifts in lieu of the monetary donations enumerated above.

Out of respect for our many patrons, rates are non-negotiable.

May I request a specific number of lions?

Certainly! Our client contact team will make every effort to fulfill special requests.

However, their ability to fulfil a special request for particular lions is based entirely on performer and equipment availability.

May I request both lion and dragon dance?

Certainly! Our client contact team will make every effort to fulfill special requests.

However, their ability to fulfil a request for both lion and dragon dance is based entirely on performer and equipment availability.

Additionally, as noted above, these requests will be subject to an additional donation.

What if I don't have all of the information about my event?

Until we have confirmed the date, time, and location of a performance our client contact team cannot accurately determine if our team is available to perform for your event. Event requests submitted without this information will be considered incomplete as we will be unable to begin our request evaluation process.

What if I have a different special request?

Our client contact team will make every effort to fulfill special requests.

Our core rules are:

You may:

After Submitting a Request

What happens after I submit a request?

The timeline for the above varies based on the time of the year and performer availability.

When will I receive confirmation that you can perform?

We will provide you with a response as soon as we are able.

Importantly, our team is all-volunteer and consists largely of university students. As a result, it may take some time for our members to determine their availability and commit to a performance. This may also be influenced by the time of year (spring break, finals, etc.).

We understand that some events require significant advance coordination. If you have a deadline by which you need a response, please include that information in your request.

We will not confirm a performance request until we can guarantee that we will be available. If you need an answer by a certain date, but we have not given you a CONFIRMED answer, then we regret that our official answer is "No, we are unfortunately unavailable."

What happens if I need to cancel a performance?

In the event that you need to cancel a performance please let us know as soon as possible.

If you have already submitted your donation for the performance we will refund your donation.

What happens if I need to re-schedule a performance?

Only when you have provided a specific date, time, and location will your performance request be distributed to our performers to determine their availability.

In the event that you need to change the date, time, or location of the performance please let us know as soon as possible so that we may re-evaluate our performers' availability.

While we will make every effort to accommodate changes to performance dates, times, and locations please be aware that our ability to make these accommodations is limited.

Change requests should not be considered approved until explicitly confirmed by one of our team's Client Contact Managers.

Day of the Performance

Our event has an MC. How should we introduce your team?

Here is a suggested blurb which your MC may read:

The Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team (TDDT) has performed the pan-Asian dragon and lion dance in Austin and around Central Texas for over 20 years. Their goal is to share and, in many cases, introduce the art of dragon and lion dancing to the community. The team performs year-round for elementary schools, cultural events, festivals, restaurants, and weddings. For more information, visit www.tddt.org.

What can I expect on the day of the performance?

Our team aims to arrive at your performance location 30 minutes prior to the performance start time. This gives us time to unload and set up our equipment, coordinate with you, and get our performers warmed up. For more complex performances or performances outside of the City of Austin we may aim to arrive earlier.

Upon our arrival, our team will reach out to you (or your designated contact) to notify you of our team's arrival. We may also ask to view the performance space. Depending on the nature of the performance, we may work out some final details with you (we handle a surprise performance at a wedding quite differently than a performance at an elementary school).

Before you know it, the dance will have begun!

What happens in the event of rain?

In the event of rainy conditions on the date of an outdoor performance, we will make reasonable accommodations to ensure fulfillment of the performance agreement. 

If, however, we cannot guarantee the safety of our equipment (our lions are made of balsa wood/paper-mâché and our drum top is stretched leather... both are irreparably damaged in rain), we reserve the right to unilaterally postpone, reschedule, or cancel any performance. 

If we have to postpone, reschedule, or cancel a performance we will work with you to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution.

What if my event is running late?

With over 20 years of experience performing at a wide variety of venues, we wholeheartedly appreciate the complexities involved in running a major event such as a wedding or a festival (or trying to corral the student body of an elementary school). In the event that your event is running late please let us know as soon as possible

We will make every effort to accommodate good faith delays of up to 30 minutes.

For delays in excess of 30 minutes, our team reserves the right to (at our sole discretion) either:

Our decision will be guided by performer availability, our team's obligations to our other clients, and the totality of the circumstances surrounding the delay.

Other Questions

What is your team name?

We are the Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team.

In written or spoken materials, please refer to us by that name.

After the first instance, you may subsequently refer to us by the acronym TDDT.

The following should be avoided:

What if I have a question not answered on this page?

Please send us an e-mail and our client contact team will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Ready to request a performance?

Please fill out our Request Form.