How to train to be a lion dancer…
Crouching lion, hidden dragon.
It’s 4 p.m. on a Friday at the New York Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club on Canal Street, where 10-15 performers, who make up one of Chinatown’s oldest lion dancing troupes, courting back almost 70 years, are gathered for their weekly training session.
Clad in a tight black T-shirt, the nonprofit’s president, Brandon Lee, is pacing up and down the room like a drill teacher, barking instructions as trainees carry out a sequence of infinite, advanced calisthenics to whip these younger lions into form for the upcoming Lunar New Year parade.
Young volunteers, ranging in age from 12 to 29-years-old train as “lions” for a full yr before taking part in NYC’s Lunar New Year parade. Emmy Park For NY Post
Out of curiosity — or maybe poor judgment — I joined half of the category to be taught what goes into being a lion dancer. I shortly discovered that this wasn’t some glorified cat cosplay — it was half ballet, half “Cobra Kai,” as there are weapons on the wall in ode to the 5,000-year-old pastime’s martial arts roots.
“On the count of three, we’re going to do the next stance,” commanded Lee, as I arrhythmically tried to imitate the intricate dance steps, lunges, and 5 minutes’ value of squats that the remaining of the group carried out with ease.
Soon, these cadets can have to execute these advanced sequences they’ve been practising all yearwhile sporting a 10-15 pound papier-mache lion head — one performer working the snapping, blinking head while another helms the shimmering cloth train.
Post reporter Ben Cost (entrance) joined the crew to be taught a few lion dance strikes. Emmy Park For NY Post
Just a few minutes into the routine, my quads have been burning. I’m not ashamed — at 36, I’m a senior citizen in a class of 12 to 29-year-olds. Thankfully, I used to be mercifully spared the necessary 70 pushups.
“It’s a lot harder than the looks,” said Lee, noting that it in all probability takes three years to
mildew Chinatown’s official maned mascot. “We look for a fierce lion dancer,” he said. “A strong player, confident. That’s why everybody actually knows our style.”
Lee would know. Following in the footsteps of his father and uncle, who carried out in the Nineteen Nineties, the younger lion started dancing himself before turning into a crew chief. Now, he acts as both president and treasurer — all while holding down a 9-to-5 gig in IT.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Brandon Lee works in IT by day and is a lion dance teacher by evening. Emmy Park For NY Post
In fact, the bootcamp-like vibe belies the fact that the Freemasons is all volunteer-run. Members embody high-schoolers and professionals alike, who cram in rehearsals between lessons and day jobs.
Contrary to what one would possibly assume, auditions aren’t required to be a lion dancer, as all are welcome. However, the strongest individuals are often those to operate the pinnacle, while the others will operate as more of a supporting position in the efficiency, such as banging a gong.
“It’s a side hustle,” said David Jiang, 22, who began the interest when he was 16. “It’s hard to make it [a lion dancer’ in a year and a half because [the first year] is just mostly foundation. Unless you’re really good, you’re very talented.”
It took Jiang eight to ten months to land his first lion dancing spot — an achievement that required him to train outdoors the allotted time, juggling rehearsals with class and college.
The performers doing the necessary 70 push-ups during their weekly Friday training session. Emmy Park For NY Post
While definitely tough, he said it’s all value it as my “team kind of needs me. So I’m trying to be here as much as I can.”
In addition, he claims that the grind has made him a “better individual.”
“When you go into endurance workouts, you have to train your mindset,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing that this club has offered.”
“It’s a lot more than just line dancing, right?” he said. “Passing on the culture, teaching the new generation, all that.”
A household bond is shaped from the group of 20-25 volunteers. Emmy Park For NY Post
That being said, a place in the stomach of the beast is no participation trophy.
Along with spectacular upper-body and leg strength, it’s important to be ready to transfer in unison with your dance companion — assume “Saturday Night Fever” mixed with a Broadway go well with performer.
litmus take a look at of this is “freestyle,” where the pinnacle is “making up the moves as he’s going,” Lee explained to The Post. He said, “The guy in the tail has to kind of pay more attention and see what he’s doing and look at his feet to kind of follow along.”
Watching them follow, I discovered to admire the dedication despite not being allowed anyplace close to a lion go well with.
It’s important preparation given the membership’s grueling slate of 70 reveals a yr, including birthdays, weddings, business openings and more. The Freemasons even carried out at the Knicks’ halftime show at Madison Square Garden for the last three years, and are returning this yr.
Whoever the 2 strongest lion dancers are those to operate the 10-15 pound head. Emmy Park For NY Post
“If I can do the Knick shows I can do anything,” said Jiang.
The largest take a look at will be the Lunar New Year competition on March 1 which can usher in the Year of the Horse with firecrackers and confetti during parades that can last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
While the Freemasons can have 40 to 50 representatives at the parades, only around 5 will do the precise lion dance due to the ability required. Others will bang gongs, cymbals and drums and other supporting roles.
“That’s parading the whole Chinatown all day,” said Lee. “So it takes a lot of manpower. It takes a lot to keep it running.”
Across city, rival Young Lions — which founder Brian Tom claims is the “largest” group in Manhattan, based in 1972 — meanwhile, can have as many as 150 performers.
Although “depending upon where you are in the skillsets, there’s only certain streets that you can play,” he said, noting that only the most “experienced” lion dancers can work the offering desk with fruit and veggies on strings.
One of the main objectives for performers just isn’t to drop their head, or it’ll price them. Emmy Park For NY Post
Whatever you do, don’t drop the pinnacle, which may price up to $1,500. “You never want to do that….that’s a major loss of face,” warned Tom. “There’s a conversation usually with that person, and they’re usually probably not touching the lion head for a little while.”
If it occurs, you’ll get “half a dozen guys jumping on a grenade” to choose it up, the Young Lions Patriarch said.
It’s a signal of reverence courting back to the Tang Dynasty (or third century for Westerners). Origin tales differ, but most hint back to a monster Nian that terrorized the beast, utilizing firecrackers and drums or, in some variations, a costume facsimile of the monster.
It then advanced into an annual efficiency used to thrust back evil spirits and carry prosperity to the group.
These days, the seemingly frozen-in-amber artwork positively reveals more influences from the trendy world as effectively as NY’s multicultural bouillabaisse. While they’re still predominantly Chinese, the China Community Young Lions has seen elevated participation from African-Americans, Italians and Japanese members, according to Tom.
“Folks within the Chinatown area would call us the United Nations because we had representation pretty much from everybody,” he said.
Meanwhile, golf equipment wrestle with sustaining lion dancing’s integrity in the social media age. Tom famous the scourge of TikTok videos depicting people in lion costumes “dancing to rap music” — a development he dubbed “not cool.”
The group has spent the past yr gearing up for next month’s parade efficiency. Emmy Park For NY Post
“The more that happens, the less traditional aspects of it, the less respect for the actual art of dancing, less about the foundational understanding of why you do it,” he said.
The youthful Lee sees both sides, noting that while some of the tradition will get misplaced, it also can help popularize the pastime and even improve expertise.
“We have our own social media and we can video the performances and share it online,” he said. “Another way it helps is actually, the guys like to watch their own performance back and see what they can do better.”
Ultimately, he believes that you’ve to adapt or you’re going to get left behind, explaining that the strategies he discovered are “a little different from how I’m teaching the new guys.”
Just don’t drop the lion’s head.
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