By Ferris family
Chinese dancing lions are a familiar part of many celebrations - Chinese New Year, FCC's annual Chinese Culture Day, the International Folkfest, even the opening of new businesses. Chloe and I love the noise, the drumbeat, the thrill of an advancing lion trying to "bite" bystanders, but we also love the practices, the outdoor performances on sizzling summer days (in costumes over street clothes), and "cooler" venues like First Night last New Year's Eve (also outdoors!). For the last year and a half Chloe has been part of the St. Louis Chinese Language School lion dance team, playing one of the accompanying instruments. During that time she has performed at least 20 times (we've lost track), and she has learned to be patient, flexible and comfortable in front of groups of strangers, even when the members of the team are asked to introduce themselves.
Our family considers Chloe's performing with the lion dance team to be a priority in our schedule because we want to support the language school, the experience gives Chloe a chance to get to know more students from the school, and we get to meet many wonderful people and attend fun activities in the community. There are always opportunities for new members to join the team, and both boys and girls perform as the lion. It takes some strength and height to dance in the lion costume, because the head is quite heavy to lift and manipulate (strings inside allow the mouth to open and close) while dancing and trying not to bump anything. Coordination is essential, because the lion moves through crowded aisles and inside low ceilinged buildings. There is always the danger of hitting a chandelier in a restaurant or getting too close to the edge of a stage.
The work of assembling a lion dance team is constant throughout the year. Charlie Cheng, the current parent manager, has 3 children (Peter, Rebecca, and Lydia) who have danced as the lion. Charlie checks the equipment at every performance to be sure the lion, the instruments, the props and the costumes are in good shape. New equipment is bought by someone from the team when they are in China. This year Charlie's family returned from a summer visit to China with a new costume for the fool or teaser, who awakens the lion after he drinks too much wine. The manager contacts the team about performance opportunities and makes sure there are at least 2 students who can perform in the lion costume.
The lion dancers practice before performances, especially when a new team is being formed. The older students work with youngers kids so there is a trained team in place before they graduate. Peter Cheng and other dancers have even performed with the team on college breaks. The lion dancers have to learn to work in confined spaces, go up and down stairs, and do the rollover on cold, hot and hard surfaces. The drummer is also important, keeping the beat and signaling to the lion and the accompanying musicians what to do next in the performance.
I asked Charlie about his experiences with the lion dance. He replied: "The Lion Dance team was organized by the Chinese School over ten years ago. The skill is passed on by the kids themselves under the supervision of two co-captains. Participation is strictly voluntary. Actually, it was the parents who made it happen. They encourage their children to perform and learn the traditional culture. It is rather difficult to recruit kids because they have other activities and some are afraid of public performances. Those kids who make it into the teams find the experience very rewarding and exciting, especiallly when they are on TV as celebrities.
Throughout the years of wear and tear of the dance equipment, we have had to replace the lion head, drum, teaser head and cymbals. The equipment is kept and maintained by the manager in charge, We typically get the replacements from either Hong Kong or China. We perform frequently during regular and Chinese New Year in various restaurants and public places. We raise funds for the language school and have food and fun, as well. I am sure the kids will agree with me that one of the most memorable experiences is getting Chinese red pocket (hong bao) money during Chinese New Year performances.
We have had a few close calls during performances. One time we discovered we had lost the red ball (which the lion catches in his mouth) 15 minutes before the show was to start. Once, the lion body detached from the head during the height of a performance. When the lion head performer did not arrive until 5 minutes before a show, the rest of us were sweating bullets! Luckily, in all cases we managed to escape major blunders and got lots of applause. The kids sure deserved it."
Chloe strongly recommends that interested families give the lion dance team a chance. She thinks it's even more fun performing with the team than watching a lion dance. She loves meeting people, hearing the loud music, going to new places (we've performed as far away as Carbondale, Ill.), getting yummy Chinese food when we dance at restaurants and festivals, and especially getting red envelopes of lucky money. Chloe recommends that kids who are frightened by the lion come to meet him after the performance, when the team is happy to let interested people see how the costume works.
Charlie summed it up this way: "We can go on forever talking about the lion dance experiences, but the best way to do it is to join the Lion Dance Team and experience it yourself." See you there! |
