| The Dance of His Dreams | ||
| Ever since he was little, Marty Chiu dreamed of doing the lion dance. The lion dance has been a Chinese tradition for 1,000 years. Marty first saw the dance performed at a Chinese New Year celebration. When Marty was in seventh grade, he began taking lessons in Kung Fu. Many movements fromKung Fu are used inthe lion dance. Marty was always asking the instructor, "Are we going to do the lion dance?" A year later, his instructor started to teach him the dance. The "lion" is really two people, one in front, under the head, and one following behind. Marty is the dancer in front. He lifts the |
head and lowers it. He pulls two strings to make the eyes openand close. Doing the dance is a way to preserve his culture, Marty says. But he adds that he's learned to respect other people's cultures too. "I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood. They had different traditions, like Chanukah. I didn't always understand, but I tried to respect their beliefs." One of thehighlights of his career came when Marty was in high school. He was asked to do the lion dance at Disneyland. He was paid as a professional performer. This year, Marty has another great opportunity. He's doing the |
lion dance in a movie called Darkman. In one scene, Marty carries the 40-pound lion head, jumping up, down, and sideways, and entertaining the crowd. Now Marty passes on his skills, and his culture, to other young people. He teaches the lion dance to teenagers. "I try to encourage them to carry on the tradition," he says. "I hope that after a while they'll start teaching other people. I'm excited about that." What did you dream of doing when you were a child? Do you still have that dream? |