When I was 5, I remember seeing my first Lion Dance performance. We were in Hongkong for a conference and were staying at the Excelsior Hotel which was the nicest hotel I had ever seen let alone stayed in. I can't quite remember if the Lion Dance was taking place IN the Excelsior or at a different hotel but nevertheless, we were passing a hotel doorway...a very, very nice hotel. And a crowd was gathering because in the lobby, a Lion Dance was taking place. A real one. And I say 'real' because I've now seen my share of Lion Dances. There are the tame, simple Lion Dances that involve very little acrobatics (like at the Chinese New Year celebration in Seattle...) and then there's the real deal which involves some very talented people. REQUIRES very talented people, I should say. I remember just being in awe of how friggin awesome this Lion Dance was. There were a series of poles with tiny platforms on them (see video below) and the "Lion" jumped from platform to platform, stopping occasionally to shake its head and flirt with the crowd (I have always concidered it flirting. The lions shake their mains and bat their eyes at the audience, causing most of the ladies and little girls present to giggle). This is one of my clearest and favoritest (deal with my cool words) memories. Below is a video of a Lion Dance competition to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. It takes a little while to get into the actual performance so be patient. It's worth it.
When I was 5, I remember seeing my first Lion Dance performance. We were in Hongkong for a conference and were staying at the Excelsior Hotel which was the nicest hotel I had ever seen let alone stayed in. I can't quite remember if the Lion Dance was taking place IN the Excelsior or at a different hotel but nevertheless, we were passing a hotel doorway...a very, very nice hotel. And a crowd was gathering because in the lobby, a Lion Dance was taking place. A real one. And I say 'real' because I've now seen my share of Lion Dances. There are the tame, simple Lion Dances that involve very little acrobatics (like at the Chinese New Year celebration in Seattle...) and then there's the real deal which involves some very talented people. REQUIRES very talented people, I should say. I remember just being in awe of how friggin awesome this Lion Dance was. There were a series of poles with tiny platforms on them (see video below) and the "Lion" jumped from platform to platform, stopping occasionally to shake its head and flirt with the crowd (I have always concidered it flirting. The lions shake their mains and bat their eyes at the audience, causing most of the ladies and little girls present to giggle). This is one of my clearest and favoritest (deal with my cool words) memories. Below is a video of a Lion Dance competition to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. It takes a little while to get into the actual performance so be patient. It's worth it.
Comments