Lion dance

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Lion dance (Chinese: 舞獅; pinyin: wǔshī) is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic the lion's movements in a lion costume.

The lion costume may be operated by a single dancer, who springs about while energetically moving and shaking the head and operating the jaws and eyes, or by a pair of dancers, forming the back and fore legs of the beast. The use of a pair of dancers is seen perfected in the exhibitions of Chinese acrobats, with the two dancers forming as a team the motions of a single animal as they move between platforms of varying elevations. The dance is traditionally accompanied by gongs, drums and firecrackers, representing the descent of good luck.

1 History
2 Different styles
- 2.1 Northern
- 2.2 Southern
3 Cirque du Soleil
4 See also
5 Reference/Articles
6 External links

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History

The lion is traditionally regarded as a guardian creature in many Asian cultures. It is featured in Buddhist lore, being the mount of Manjusri. The lion dance is performed in many Asian cultures including China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, amongst others, with each country posessing their own distinct styles and purposes.

The lion dance is especially popular with the Chinese cultures, having a history of close to a thousand years. There are a number of Chinese lion dance styles but the two most popular Chinese lion dance styles are the northern and southern lion dance. Northern dance has origins stemming from the northern parts of China where it was used as entertainment for the imperial court. The northern lion is usually red, orange, and yellow in colour (sometimes with green fur for the female lion), is shaggy in appearance, with a golden head. The northern dance is very acrobatic and is mainly performed as entertainment.

The southern lion dance is more symbolic in nature. It is usually performed as a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune. The southern lion exhibits a wide variety of colour and has a distinctive head with large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn at center of the head.

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Different styles

The two most popular types of lion dancing with the Chinese cultures are the Northern lion and the Southern lion. Northen lion has long and shaggy orange and yellow hair (sometimes green hair to differentiat a female lion). During performance it bounces around like a Pekinese Dog and its movements are very life-like. The Northern lions are very acrobatic with stunts like lifts or walking on a giant ball. The Northern lion usually perform in family, the lion with the red bow is the male, and the green bow is the female (females sometimes have green hair). Sometimes, there are two smaller lions included in the performance.

The Southern style can be further divided into Fut San (Buddha Mountain), Hok San (Crane Mountain), Fut-Hok (minor style that exhibits a hybrid of Fut San and Hock San), Chow Gar (minor style performed by practitioners of Chow family style kung fu), and the Green Lion (Qing1 Shi1 - popular with the Fujian/Hokkien and Taiwanese).

Fut San is the style many Kung Fu school adapts. It requires powerful moves and strength in stance. The lion becomes the representation of the Kung Fu school and only the most advance students are allowed to perform.

The Hok San style is more commonly known as a contemporary style. Contemporary Hok San style combines a southern lion head with Northern lion movements. Hok San style tries to reproduce a more life-like look, realistic movements, and acrobatic stunts. Its shorter tail is also a favorite among the troupes that do pole (jong) jumping Template:Ref.

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Northern

In the north the lions usually appear in pairs. The one with a red bow on its head is a male, the one with a green bow is a female. Northern lions sometimes appear as a family, when a pair of large adults is accompanied by a pair of small, young lions. Ninghai, in Ningbo, is called the "Homeland of the Lion Dance" (狮舞之乡) for the northern variety. The northern hornless lions are believed to be Fu Dogs.

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Southern

Image:Chinese Dragon.jpg Guangdong is the homeland of the southern variety. The southern horned lions are believed to be Nians.

When the dancing lion enters a village or township, it is supposed to pay its respects first at the local Buddhist temple, then to the ancestors at the ancestral hall, and finally through the streets to bring happiness to all the people. There are three types of lions: the golden lion, representing liveliness; the red lion, representing courage; and the green lion, representing friendship.

During the Chinese new year in Hong Kong, lion dancers from martial art school will visit the store front of businesses to "choy chang" (採青 lit. picking the greens). The business would tie a red envelope filled with money to a head of lettuce and hang it high above the front door. The lion will approach the lettuce like a curious cat, consume the lettuce and spit out the leaves but not the money. The lion dance is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money as reward. The tradition becomes a mutual transaction.

Image:ChinNewYr-dragon2.jpg Nowadays, the store does not demand much from the performers, it is easy money for the martial art school. But in the old days, the lettuce was hung 15 to 20 feet above ground and only a well-trained martial artists could reach the money while dancing with a heavy lion head. This kind of events became a public challenge. A large sum of money was rewarded, but the audience expected a good show. Sometimes, if the lions from multiple martial arts schools approached the lettuce at the same time, the lions were supposed to fight to decide a winner. The lions had to fight with stylistic lion moves instead of chaotic street fighting style. The audience would judge the quality of the martial art schools according to how the lions fought. Since the schools' reputation were at stake, the fights were usually fierce but civilized. The winner lion would then use creative methods and martial art skills to reach the high-hanging reward. Some lions might dance on bamboo stilts and some might step on a human pyramid formed by the other students of the school. The performers and the schools would gain praises and respects on top of the large monetary reward when they did well with the act.

Image:CULT.jpg During the 1950's-60's, people who joined lion dance troupes were “gangster-like” and there was a lot of fighting amongst lion dance troupes and kung fu schools. Parents were afraid of letting their children join lion dance troupes because of the “gangster” association to the members. During festivals and performances, when lion dance troupes meet, there are “fights” between groups. Some lifts and acrobatic tricks are designed for the lion to “fight” and knock over other rival lions. Performers might even hide daggers in their shoes, which can be used to injure other lion dancers’ legs, or even attach a metal horn on their lion’s forehead, which can be used to slash other lion heads. For instance, the violence got so extreme that at one point, the Hong Kong government had to put a stop to lion dance completely. Now, lion dance troupes must attain a permit from the government in order to do lion dance. Although there is still a certain degree of competitiveness, troupes are a lot less violent and aggressive. Nowadays, lion dance is a more sport-oriented activity. Lion dance is more for recreation than a way of living.

Three other famous lion types can also be identified: Liu Bei, Guan Gong (Kuan Kung) and Zhang Fei. They represent historic characters in China that were recorded in the classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The body, or tail as it is called, is traditionally multi-coloured regardless of the head colour, but contemporary lions have matching heads and tails.

The Liu Bei lion has a yellow/gold face and tail, and white fur. He is depicted as the wise one, used by the masters of kung-fu schools.

The Guan Gong lion has a red face and tail, and black fur. He is depicted as the most noble lion, most commonly used in ceremonies.

The Zhang Fei lion has a black face and tail, and white fur. He is depicted as the most aggressive lion, used by young masters aspiring to prove themselves.

The dance is performed usually at Chinese New Year or other important occasions, or instance, opening ceremonies, weddings.

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