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Lion dancing is believed to have been “launched into China in the course of the Tang Dynasty with the arrival of Buddhism” 1000’s of years in the past and has origins in Chinese language, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and different Asian cultures, says Jonathan H. X. Lee, PhD, professor of Asian American research at San Francisco State College.
Lin, who has been a lion dancer for six years, says you will need to him as a result of it permits him to assist unfold appreciation for Asian tradition, carry the neighborhood collectively, and share this custom with youthful generations. For the previous 4 years, Lin has carried out with the New York Chinese language FreeMasons Athletic Membership (NYCFAC), a nonprofit group that educates youth about Chinese language heritage by way of lion dance, martial arts, and athletics. He and his troupe of 20 different lion dancers carry out between 30 and 40 reveals a 12 months, every operating between eight and 20 minutes.
Here is how lion dancing performs into Lin’s life.
What weekly 3-hour lion-dancing practices are like
A variety of behind-the-scenes work goes into every of Lin’s lion-dancing performances. Practices, which happen weekly on Thursdays for no less than three hours all 12 months lengthy, contain a mix of stretches, strength-training workouts, and a dance observe with the lion costume on. “We do plenty of exercises, like push-ups and horse stance, which is sort of a midway squat,” says Lin. “We simply maintain the squat place for 5 to 10 minutes.” In whole, Lin goes by way of 9 stances in every observe, totaling at about an hour of stance-holding observe.
“We do plenty of exercises, like push-ups and horse stance, which is sort of a midway squat. We simply maintain the squat place for 5 to 10 minutes.” —Xing Lengthy Lin, lion dancer
Being adept at holding stances is important in lion dancing as a result of the performances contain squatting and stacking for lengthy intervals of time. Stacking entails a dancer holding a decorative lion head whereas in a wide range of stances, atop one other dancer who’s controlling the rear finish of the lion.
Following stance observe, Lin trains for an extra two hours within the lion-dancing uniform—which consists of a colourful lion head the dancer holds and shimmery pants embellished in fur they put on—to run routines and choreographed dances to the beat of the drums, which represents the heartbeat of the lion. Lee says the lion head weighs roughly 20 kilos and “it could get heat within the full costume.”
Past the bodily demanding exercises, Lin additionally faces time constraints along with his busy schedule. “I sacrifice my time to be right here,” he says. Along with the weekly three-hour exercises (which regularly run longer than scheduled), the dancers typically observe on their very own.
Challenges to the way forward for lion-dancing
The NYCFAC doesn’t pay its lion dancers, and the funds it raises from efficiency charges assist to maintain the membership’s doorways open. “It is extra of volunteer type of work,” says Brandon Lee, president of the NYCFAC, who has been instructing and coordinating lion dances previous three years. “We’re a nonprofit making an attempt to unfold Chinese language tradition and assist out the neighborhood and the youth. The membership is open to any of our members, any day of the week to work out. The youthful youngsters come up and so they do their homework or play video games.”
Lee says any proceeds get funneled again into the group to pay lease for the studio area, new tools, and occasional meals for the dancers and dancing employees after the reveals. The funds are additionally used to buy new lion heads, which primarily come from China and Hong Kong and value between $800 and $1,500 every.
Recruitment is one other problem for holding the artwork kind alive. Lin says, in his expertise, youthful individuals aren’t as all for studying about and training lion dancing as they as soon as have been. Lee agrees: At present “it is extra about phrase of mouth and understanding individuals,” he says. “We [at the NYCFAC] are attempting to discover different [recruitment] strategies.”
However all of those challenges are well worth the dedication as a result of lion dancing is greater than only a custom to Lin. “Serving on this position means so much to me as a result of that is my very own tradition, the membership pushes me so much [physically and mentally], and lion dancing permits me to function a job mannequin to different Chinese language youngsters,” he says. “When individuals rent us, I all the time inform the youngsters watching us to publish about us on social media, so different individuals can see what we’re doing locally.” He hopes that social media traction will elevate the membership’s visibility and result in extra individuals in his neighborhood becoming a member of, preserving the artwork kind for generations to return.
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