When someone finds out that I am a lion dancer, their first question is ‘how do you jump on each other’s shoulders’? The simple answer is strength. The complicated answer is “technique, chemistry, and communication” – Hai Nguyen. My lion dance coach, Hai Nguyen, has been lion dancing for over fifteen years and is the founder of the Eternal Lion Dance Troupe. For many outsiders to the Asian tradition, the dance is mystical and noisy, both audibly and visually. The crashing of cymbals and booms of the drum combined with the vibrant colors and animalistic movements of the lions can be overwhelming. Allow me to clear up the confusion and reveal the Art of Lion Dancing.
Before any dance is choreographed and before any live music is composed, you have to decide what fundamentals resonate with you. “Fundamentals consist of the foundations to the basics of lion dancing.” Futsan is the traditional style of lion dancing that emphasizes “storytelling and head movements of a lion”, while Hoksan is the more modern style of lion dancing that focuses on “explosive acrobatic movements.” These styles have more similarities than differences, however, and are often combined to create unique sub-styles. For instance, the Eternal Lion Dance Troupe utilizes the “Hoksan style of dancing and incorporates many other styles’ musicality to create a noteworthy mixture of tones and beats from traditional and modern styles to create something people have never heard before.
”After styles have been decided, the lion head may be picked up. Lions can express emotion through their mouth, eyes, and body. For example, a lion could tilt their head to the side slightly and blink quickly to replicate curiosity, or intensely shake and raise their head higher to express anger or challenge others. The next step is to form a “routine”. A routine is the choreography of the lion dance. This is done before learning tricks or lifts because “expressing the storyline of what the lion is doing is more important than fancy tricks”. Lion dance routines often consist of the same movements but in different orders and variations. Only when a story is created, “this is when tricks are included to enhance the engagement of the routine.”
The Art of Lion Dancing is not as abstract as one might think. It is just a performing art that is unique to any other form of art out there.
