Lion Dancing thread

[bodhitree]

Who lion dances here? What style? For how long? How long has your team been together? Any interesting links? Anyone been in any competitions? Anything about liondancing welcomed!!!


Let me hear it.


heres where i go
www.steel-dragon.org

[Gold Horse Dragon]

good lion dance forum http://www.liondancing.org

GHD

[Fen]

Here is the best one out there!

Fu-Ragz.com

+ it's updated more then the other.

~Jason

[hakka jai]

Hi Every 1,
I also am a lion dancing but also eager to know & learn more about Kay lin (unicorn dancing)is there any threads /info on it.


Cheers

[David Jamieson]

lion dance is very cool.

check this one out it's pretty well done.

cheers

[bodhitree]

At our school we do Fat san, I've seen a video of people doing hak san, does anyone know anything about the other styles.

We do a lot of physical conditioning in class, jumping and stance practice, then the dance. We do some kung fu some times also. I like what lion dancing has done to my plain kungfu forms because of the focus on rythm and changing speed. Does anyone know where to get some good competition DVD's?

let me know, stay in your stance

[David Jamieson]

Fat Shan and Hok Shan are popular amongst the martial arts style lion dances. Although there are decidely some very different styles out there still associated with MA and not.

Northern lion dance is usually done as a performance for instance, that's the big shaggy lion that looks like a great big dog more than a lion.

I have a reproduction painting for 17th century japan of a lion dance from there. Also non martial arts, but then, Lion Dance is not always tied to martial arts and it doesn't have it's roots in martial arts.

It's a cultural myth and legend retelling that is used at auspicious times. It spans primarily Asian cultures and is found in pretty much every asian country.

It's origins aren't really clear as each of these nations has their own story. The Chinese have theirs, the Japanese theirs, the Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, etc all have theirs as well. Although, some nations recognize it as an import brought along with ethinicity.

I've even seen a vietnamese lion dance where the head was more like a shield made of brass with the lion face hammered into it. The body was similar. That was a pretty cool lion dance.

There is not a whole lot of information on the subject. A Dr. W.C.Hu published a large book on the subject that did extensive research into the Chinese Lion Dance, but the book is out of publication, Dr. Hu lost the original manuscript, there were some "political" misgivings about Hu's work on the book from some camps, etc etc. Essentially, What I am saying is that you will have a very hard time trying to the book.

Taoist practices have a lot of connection to Lion Dance. It is this particular religio-philosophy that drives the meaning in the Lion Dance and it's associated ceremonial rituals.

The Hoi Gong for instance is the ritual of bringing down the lion spirit from heaven so that it may inhabit the Lion and release it's good luck providing powers through the dance. But the ritual to get the lion spirit into the animal is the "awakening". That's were you mix ginger and cinnabar (or ginger and red paint) and dot the eyes, nose, ears, mouth and body with the red paint. Each dot opens a conduit for the spirit lion to function through the puppet.

So after the hoigong ceremony, the lion comes to life and can be functional. In some traditions, after the season of lion dances is over, the Lion is burned and all the wishes of luck and thoughts and what not that the Lion has been exposed to in it's travel will then be taken by the wind horses to the sky.

Anyway, It's all pretty shamanistic, but it is a lot of fun to do. Most people don't really know a lot about the behind the scenes Shamanistic practices that are tied to Lion Dance, and Dragon dance or dragon boat racing or the imbument of celestial properties to inanimate objects that is a cornerstone belief of many asian cultures. House gods, Door Guardians, et al. But then, here in the west, a lot of people just don't "get it" anyway and do the dance strictly for the fun of it or the physical exercise or whatever.

cheers

[bodhitree]

very informative, you know a lot about the subject, do you lion dance? My teacher/coach has some Vietnamese lion dance training, he said our team will get into it as we progress, I'm looking forward to it!

[David Jamieson]

Yep, I used to Lion Dance, I haven't in the last 3 years or so though, but I'll likely pick it up again in the near future.

I like working on making routines for the lion to perform and then trying them out. It's pretty fun to do. enjoy!

cheers

[blooming lotus]

a few nice dispays of agility, but to be honest...by the end got a little bored

cheers anyway

[Gold Horse Dragon]

In the 22nd year of Yuan-chia during the reign of Emperor Wen-ti in 446 A.D. the Sung were at war with Lin-i. During this war a general named Tsung Chieh had his soldiers defeat an army using war elephants by have his soliders dress and act as lions and charge the enemy to the roll of battle drums and percussion instruements. This frightened the war elephants and the elephants and ememy were in confusion resulting in the Sung and general Tsung Chieh having the victory. "Therefore, this historical incident may serve as the genesis of the Lion Dance as a branch of the martial arts" - Taken from 'Chinese Lion Dance Explained' by Dr. William C. Hu 1995.

So Lion Dance and martial arts/artists have been closely linked for a very long time. Martial arts essentially gave rise to the Lion Dance that we have known and this has been at least from the Sung Dynasty (Northern Sung 960 A.D/Southern Sung 1127 A.D.)

Further from the book "Various elements of maked dance existed in china prior to the Sung dynasty. In the Sung, lion dance became popular and the final form of lion dance resulted from the merging of two forms of dances: exorcism ritual dances and the court entertainment that had a martial aire. These were later incorporated as a folk dance with the skills and technques of the martial arts which have given rise to lion dance as we know it today".

All the Kung Fu guys I have seen really bring the lion to life and they have to do so with many variables thrown into the dance rather than on a memorised jong routine. But the jong competitions of late are bringing life to the movements much more than they have done in the past. The bottom line to how life like the lion is - is how well the dancers are taught and the skill that is brought out of them by the Sifu.
A real test of how life like the lion is, is when the lion meets an animal during the perfromance such as a dog. I have had and have some excellent Lion Dancers (all kung fu guys) who have had dogs cower in terror and ones that wanted to fight our lion...pretty life like and realistic to that expert - another animal, but humorous for us to watch the dog .

For some articles, published articles and online videos of traditonal LD you can go to our site http://www.mts.net/~sillum/Index.htm

GHD

[wushu chik]

Here is a pic of it..

My Lion, and for ebay here.

~Wen~

[GeneChing]

I have no idea what a gender non-binary lion would be called.

Dora Ng Just Wanted to Dance Like a Lion
A new generation of women and gender non-binary performers are reviving a Chinese tradition.
By Emma Renaerts 10 May 2019 | TheTyee.ca
Emma Renaerts is completing a practicum at The Tyee while pursuing a master’s degree at UBC’s Graduate School of Journalism.


Dora Ng and Vicky Ma practicing lion dance at a local community centre. Photo submitted.

Dora Ng just wanted to dance like a lion.

So Ng, 31, asked a friend from a famous lion dance team if they could join. (Ng, a non-binary Chinese-Canadian, uses they/them pronouns.)

“Yeah, of course,” he said.

But a week later he came back with bad news.

“Sorry, my teacher said that girls aren’t allowed to be lions because they menstruate and are therefore unclean,” he said.

“That was 10 years ago, and at the time I kind of accepted it,” Ng recalls. “But I’m pretty convinced somebody just made that up.”

When Ng began practicing lion dancing, women and gender non-binary people were a rarity in the practice. For decades, women were prevented from learning and performing Chinese lion dance.

“Trying to break through was a really frustrating and difficult process,” Ng says.

Traditional lion dance is performed by two people, who move as the head and tail of the lion costume. Derived from martial arts practice, the dance is performed for entertainment, spiritual or celebratory purposes.

Over the years, Ng has heard countless different explanations for why women couldn’t be trained in traditional Chinese lion dance, from the notion that women couldn’t hold up the head of the lion costume (which can weigh from seven to 18 kilograms) to claims they couldn’t perform the strenuous routines, which involve jumping onto raised platforms and crouching for long periods of time.

So Ng, who’s practiced kung fu since age 13, decided to teach lion dance to anyone who wanted to learn.

The real reason women and gender non-binary people have been excluded may have more to do with the history of the form. Although the exact origins of lion dancing in China are unknown, many scholars believe it likely started after lions were brought into China by Buddhist followers and merchants, as a result of trade along the Silk Road.

In the early part of the 20th century, lion dancers were often associated with “secret societies” and covert organized crime groups, says Josephine Chiu-Duke, professor of Chinese history at the University of British Columbia.

“It has little to do with gender, but rather with social status,” Chiu-Duke explains. “Lion dance performers could very well have been women, but their status in society wouldn’t be high… Even after the lion dance become popular, it is perhaps due to convention that we in general see no female lion dance performers.”

But today, around the world, more lion dance clubs are opening their doors to women.

An all-female lion dance club in Boston, Gund Kwok, has added to the growing number of women lion dancers competing in Singapore and across Eastern Asia.

In Metro Vancouver, the Shao Lin Hung Gar Kung Fu Association has an all-female “Ladies Lion Dance Team” and several clubs, including Richmond’s Vancouver Chinese Lion Dance Association, offer mixed-gender classes.

Eugenia Chau, 37, founder of the Vancouver Chinese Lion Dance Association, said although she didn’t have any trouble finding willing teachers, “I do know some clubs don’t teach women.”

From its start in 2006, Chau’s club has always been open to people of all gender identities.

“For me, it’s more to promote the art of Chinese lion dance, rather than have it be exclusive, you have to be Asian, or you have to be male in order to learn. Our club is all diversity... as long as they want to learn the culture, we welcome them, and we teach them.”

Chau said that gender inclusion in Chinese lion dance often comes down to the attitudes of a particular instructor or club.

The Hon Hsing Athletic Club, the home of the oldest and historically largest lion dance club in Vancouver, remains a fraternity.

Founded in 1939 by the Wong Wun Sun Society and the Wong Kung Har Tong Society (which would later become Wong’s Benevolent Association), the Hon Hsing Athletic Club originated as a response to the Second World War.

While, the club’s men-only policy may have been initially prompted by exclusionary immigration policies and the high head taxes imposed on Chinese immigrants, which created a community of bachelors in Vancouver, its continuation as a fraternity has an impact on women hoping to find acceptance within the community.

“It’s not just that people don’t think you can do it. It’s literally no girls allowed,” Ng says.

But with recent cultural and demographic shifts, women are entering the lion dance community in greater numbers.

“I don’t know if it’s just in Vancouver, but it feels like the heyday of lion dancing is over and [clubs] are so desperate for anyone, they’re taking women,” Ng says.

Chau’s own club currently has more women than men, and she suggests women’s interest in learning the art form is another possible reason for their growing inclusion within the community.

Ng met dance partner Vicky Ma at an annual Chinese New Year event hosted by the SUCCESS Simon K.Y. Lee Seniors Care Home in Chinatown.


Dora Ng and Vicky Ma, cartoon style. Drawing submitted.

Ng is deeply appreciative of their artistic relationship with Ma, a 48-year-old Chinese-Canadian woman who had also struggled to learn lion dance despite decades of dedicated kung fu training and teaching.

“I’ve developed such a strong relationship with Vicky,” Ng says. “We have a very similar mindset and we’re able to participate in a lot of community things and just bring joy.”

The pair have performed at the Chinese New Year event in Vancouver for the past five years. With demand for trained lion dancers at community events continuing to grow, gender is becoming irrelevant. As Ng says, “any warm body” would do.

But accessing ongoing training is still a challenge. When Ng and Ma met a drummer named Steven Wong, he was blunt. “You two are fit, but you have no idea what you’re doing.”

Wong offered to teach them and invited the pair to join his early morning tai chi class at a local park. While they occasionally practiced tai chi with a group of Chinese seniors, the main event was lessons in the art of lion dance.

Wong schooled them on the basics, using an empty ice cream bucket as a drum. “He’s such a great drummer, that’s his passion. He just needs a lion to make his art come alive,” Ng says.


Dora Ng hopes to build community and open lion dance to a more diverse group of people. Photo submitted.

As a gender non-binary person, Ng is motivated to help break through gender barriers because they have experienced them in a deeply personal way. They say changing their appearance to reflect a more traditionally masculine presentation highlighted the way perceptions about gender and ability led to obstacles.


Ng and Ma have built a great friendship through lion dance, and enjoy bringing some “goofiness” to their performances.

“When I started changing my presentation, people just saw my potential,” Ng recalls. “Noticing that made me more committed to dismantling what used to be barriers for me in the first place.”

Ng’s dedication to the art form is also influencing choices in their personal life. As a non-binary person who also identifies as transmasculine, they have considered hormone therapy.

“Testosterone might be something in my future,” Ng muses. “But not until I’ve won a lion dance competition without it, so people can’t say it’s because of the testosterone.”

While breaking down barriers is important to Ng, their lion dance journey is about more than just gender. One of Ng’s main goals is to help build community in Vancouver.

“One of the greatest things about martial arts is it’s very intergenerational,” Ng says. “I would like to be able to create that kind of space and open it more. Open it to be not just age inclusive but also to be truly gender inclusive, and body inclusive, bring everybody together.”

“When you’re 90 and you have a community of people around you, you still practice tai chi in the park, and you go for dim sum after, and you’re happy and laughing and surrounded by friends and community. I think that’s winning.” [Tyee]

[David Jamieson]

Resurrection powers are strong!

[GeneChing]

Chinatown Lion Dance Festival
July 22nd & 23rd @ ChinatownSF

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend, but with Kung Fu Day last weekend, SF Chinatown is prospering.