Upcoming New Year Celebrations

[yu shan]

Interested to hear what your school has planned for shows and entertainment for Chinese New Years. For Lion Dance Teams, give us some insight on your set, tricks etc. I know the Wah Lum group is very serious about their Lion Dancing and KF Demo. Pong Lai`s main school in Tampa has numerous shows scheduled. We here in Nashville have shows, our big show is in Asheville, NC. We are supporting Shifu Matt Melton (Oso) with his Grand Opening, and a big show downtown. The show downtown will include lions from other KF schools... this could get interesting!

[flem]

yu shan,

I have heard that what we know as lion dancing is rather weak, or not what it should be. Something to keep in mind during your quest for the truth.

[MantisSanDiego]

will be playing Jiben Gong Taolu and Tang Lang San Da drills. Shifu Dasargo will also be playing various sets and Yongfa as well.

Following the demo will be various kuoshu demos (Mo Gar Lung Ying Shaolin Choi Lai Fut etc) presented by the Kuoshu Union.

San Diego Chinese New Year and Cultural Faire
http://www.sandiegochinese.net/sdcc/cnyf.htm

The Kuoshu Union
www.KuoshuUnion.Bigstep.com

Gong Xi Fa Cai!
L.

[mantis108]

Hi Yu Shan And Oso

Wow, that would be so cool to have a Grand Opening coincided with the New Year celebrations. I wish you guys all the best in promoting Kung Fu especially that of Tanglang Kung Fu.

I don't want to hijack the thread so I will leave the Lion Dance show for now. Just wanted to briefly mention that traditional lion dance play (more about culture) and the modern sport lion dance play (more about athleticism) are quite different. So it really depends on what the club's focus is when it develops a lion dance team these days.

Warm regards

Mantis108

[sayloc]

Yushan

My area of the country does not have much of a chinese population and the rest could care less about the culture. I wish it were a different story, my students love doing the lion dance and practice hard.

Some kind of football dance would go over big!

I am sure you are going to have some fantastic shows!

Flem

No offense but you come across as a negative individual.
It could be the way I read your posts. It is probably just me.

Have a good day.

[flem]

sayloc,

negative in what way? Yu shan and I share a similar background, a friend of mine has spent some time in Sanfrancisco and has found what we know as lacking. Thought I'd let him know as more research and other lion apps might prove more appealing done for a Chinese audience- performed by whitey.


Yu Shan,

Are you offended? I don't think you'll have much of a "showdown" (no offense intended) there, unless things have changed since I was there. We brought the first lion to the area, and I suspect (since I saw him on t.v. during a parade) that my friend will be the other performer

[sayloc]

Flem

I didnt realize that you knew yushan.

I dont. He sounds like he knows his stuff.

I think everyone knows they can improve themselves in every aspect of the art that they study and teach. We usually dont need to be reminded.

I am sure the guys in frisco that you have watched are trying to emulate another team that they have seen. Always someone better, Right?

I still must be reading your post wrong

Have a good evening

[Oso]

hmmmmmm....

let's stay positive, fellas.

I can't begin to thank yu shan and his gang enough for coming to town to help me out...yu shan's willingness to share is what brought me to Pong Lai to begin with.

Irrelevant of the authenticity of it, yu shan's students bust ass in the lion. I saw the local group just before seeing the N'ville group perform and it was like night and day.

There will be much good beer for my boys J and B when it's all said and done.

My only problem is finding some one willing to let me demonstrated shuai and na on.

[SaMantis]

Hi, Wah Lum Boston and WL'ers from around New England will be out on the streets Feb. 13 along with several other area schools doing lion dance in Chinatown. It'll be a huge, daylong event and we will hit dozens of storefronts.

Because several schools are roaming the neighborhood, competing for hung bao, there's the potential for things to get fierce. But I haven't seen anything get ugly yet (this will be only my 3rd CNY in Boston). Some dances are reserved days ahead of time. Some stores have each troupe lion dance (usually a very short one). Most schools send advance scouts around to the stores as they come up the street, to see who wants a lion dance.

Etiquette is really important with so many lions roaming the streets. When 2 schools pass each other, they do so with the lion heads lowered. When the lead lions meet, they "kiss" (touch heads together); this is a gesture of respect. Raising the lion head high will start a fight.

As far as who's better? At CNY, it doesn't matter very much. Usually the temperature is hovering somewhere around Insanity (last year the high was 5, wind chill -15), the streets are icy, and this year there will probably be a foot of nasty dirty slushy snow on all the curbs. The last half of the day is more like a test of endurance.

If you really want to see good lion dance in Boston though, come up in the summer for the August Moon Festival, when the area schools perform on stage in the center of Chinatown. Last year there was excellent skill shown by all the schools. There was also an all-female lion dance troupe that performed (they only do LD, not martial arts); when they started, a lot of people kind of chuckled to see only women under the lions, but 15 minutes later they were cheering -- this team never slacked, no one switched out for the whole performance, and they pulled off some serious acrobatics.

BTW, my sifu doesn't hand out beer to the group afterward -- so Oso, I'll take 2 please!

[Oso]

sounds fun ! might be a reason to road trip.

and, um, the beer is for later, of course.....

I don't smoke but I'll match any old chinese master cigarette for beer !!!

(ok, i'll say it: that's sigable)

[flem]

Sayloc,

Yes, you must be reading it wrong as I said a friend of mine, not me, spent time in SanFrancisco, by that I mean more than watching. In any case, my understanding is that it is not emulation, but rather whole dances, whereas Yu Shan and I learned the basic set, the one most seen and emulated the rest! As did those around us. But apparently theres much more (tradition-wise) .


Oso,

The authenticity is fine, but my understanding (not to be negative, Sayloc) is that there are many dances other than just the simple routines we learned.
I am quite certain that Yu Shan's group gave a superior performance. BTW, you are in a great location. The area has been lacking in good Chinese martial arts. How long have you been there? Have you been to Belle Chere? Thats a cool event.

[Oso]

ok, so what you're saying is that you guys were just taught basic lion dancing? authentic but not elaborate?

I've been in Asheville for 3.5 years. Was in Boone for 11 prior to that.

It is somewhat lacking. Do you know that an old teacher from WL is also close by? One of my students has done some design work for him but I haven't met him yet. I hope to do so on the 5th.


Belle Chere is the shiznit. We also have a thing every last friday of the month during the summer months. Asheville rocks for street fests.

[flem]

oso,

Design work? I used to teach wl, but no design work.
You sure he's allowed to cllaborate with you? lol

Yes the lion is good- the real thing, but apparently there's much, much more.

[Oso]

whups, mistated myself maybe.

A student of mine has done graphic design work for an old WL teacher who is now well known for his bagua. This teacher has a retreat close by.

I've been looking forward to meeting him.........

[yu shan]

SaMantis, nice story about Boston. Pretty sure I`m well versed in LD etiquette. Here in Nashville we are the only troupe in town. So I don`t think I have to worry about crossing paths with another lion. However, this gig in North Carolina is going to yield lions from a few KF schools. Of course we will show respect, we are just out to have a good time.

Our team is new, first year together. We had our first show tonight for a private party. Went OK, everyone there was excited. Our team had the jitters of course, hit there tricks, just got to work with front man on his mannerisms. So this year is practice for us, this team next year will be awesome.

Sayloc, yes sir, I have and still do study those who are premier in lion dancing. I had alot of people to look up to while in Wah Lum. Being part-time there is only so much I can do though. We don`t light the world on fire but we make the crowd happy and break a good sweat. This team has a few good tricks, they will get better in time.

Flem, It is always good to hear from you. Hope all is well with you and your family. No offense taken at all. You say you were there and you brought the first lion to this area. Where are you talking about? And who is on t.v. just curious, pm me if you like. Can you give me a little more info on our weak attempt? Just trying to learn.

Oso, thanks bro, we want to help make your Grand Opening a big success. It will be good training for our team. Break the d a m n beer out early dude, come on!