Lion Dance at the Asian Community and Cultural Center

What is Lion Dance?

Lion Dance is a performance that brings good luck to whoever we dance for. This is not always the case. We usually perform in the public for all Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year, Chinese Easter (Djong Tsow Djeet), etc. There are many occasions where important Chinese functions would request a lion dance team to perform. These functions would include anniversaries, initiations, and grande openings.

One lion requires two people to dance: one head and one tail. Both require unique skills and much practise in order to make the lion look energetic and life-like. The head must convey a lion's head and front leg movements in "jerkish" manner. Contrary to what a real one would maneuver, the lion usually would not move smoothly and stealthily but rough and noticable. The tail also plays a crucial role in the lion dance for the tail must have the strength to be able to lift the head and have the head's weight onto his/hers. Also, for synchronized dances, the tail must always have their eyes on the head's feet. The entire sychronization of the lion depends only on the skills of the tail.

The most important part of the lion dance is eating the "tseng" which is sort of a prize. The tseng is a form of food with a red pocket tied to it. Usually the food is lettuce but sometimes they throw in things that are harder to eat such as watermelons or coconuts. Sometimes they even give the lion Chinese wine. The lion must eat the tseng and retain the red pocket for the club. The process of eating takes about a half of the entire performance.

Anytime you see lions, you're bound to see drums, gongs, and cymbals. It is essential for the lions performance to follow the beat of the drums being played. Depending on the situation, sometimes the drums follow the lion instead. That is the most common way but due to some disorganization, we've somehow evolved to a system where the lion must follow the drums.

There are various methods of dancing: set patterns, on poles, ladders, etc. Fortunately, we won't be doing much of those for they require superior skill in which we've yet to have. We usually improvise. What happens is that lion dancers first learn the basic stances and shuffling or walking methods. The head must get comfortable with the devices inside the lion ie the blinking and ear-flapping cords and the jaw. Afterwards, the head then learns the different combinations shifting from one stance to another. One with a creative mind can play the head very nicely.

Once in a while we might throw in a Buddha, or what we call the Fool, which is traditionally responisble for teasing the lion. He/She must constantly carry a leaf fan and a silly, bald mask (there's a reason why we call him the Fool). We usually have the Fool direct the lions now. A good Fool should be acrobatic for he/she is to "flip around" and roll under the lions in order to create an outstanding performance.

Because these lions are good luck charms, they must pay their respects and bow to the audience and/or the tseng before and after the performance.

Some unlisted rules:

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