I learned only the basics of traditional lion dance and am looking for some experienced dancers to help me out. I want to start at the very beginning (I like to cross reference everything).
The different beats of the drum? How do the cymbals match it?
What are the steps used for each beat? How about the emotions of the lion? In what orer are they played?
Thanks I am looking forward to the info. I will add what I have learned if it is of any relevance after our more experienced dancers here have their say.. thanks a lot!!!
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"If you meet Buddha on the road, Kill him."
Basics -- do you mean you learned the steps, how to carry/lift the lion? Or just learned about the dance but haven't practiced yet?
Lion dancing, while not impossibly hard or anything, is something that is best learned in "live" practice. I can tell you a little bit about the traditional beats, the symbolism of the performance, etc., and that will help, but then to do it right (as I found out myself) it has to be practiced and practiced again. And then the very first time you have to shred the head of lettuce you'll screw it up just like me
Anyway, I can tell you a few things, but I don't think I can really explain the steps adequately, except to say that there are steps.
__________________ "Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san
"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...
^^^What Sammygirl said. My brain is not working well enough right now to try to put it into words. Tommy has some video clips- I'll try to post the links to them, if that will help at all?
__________________ Si hoc non legere potes tu asinus es
My school uses 3 beats. The 3-star, 5-star, and 7-star. They are all variations on the same rhythm, but are distinct. Our cymbals are time to accentuate certain drum beats. that loud Crack you get, our cymbals make sure that some of those are not drowned out.
As far as the steps, they vary, obviously. But most are stances we do every day in class, timed to the beat. Much of what we do is also freestyle.
Im going to attempt to imbed this, but reguardless, the link goes to my schools lion dance video.
Nice! That's an excellent video for showing people how the specialty steps mix in with basic stepping, some of the tricks possible, the traditional way the lion eats.
If you listen to the cymbals in the background, you can hear how they alternately parallel or accentuate the drumbeats. However, there are clear pauses. Mostly these are for emphasis on both the musicians' and the dancers' part -- the lion will "snap" into a pose during the brief pause. What you probably don't hear are transitional beats from the drum, usually an extra beat or two, that signals the cymbals/gong that "we are now going to the next beat sequence."
The drummer is under a lot of pressure. Typically during a lion dance, the lion leads the drum, and the drum leads the other musicians. The drummer has to transition smoothly when the lion goes from one sequence to another (say, from "sleepy lion" to "playful lion" or into the eating sequence at the center of the dance). However, in some situations the drummer must lead, such as if the lion dancers are new, if they are in a noisy crowded area, etc. The cymbal players have an important role especially when it's very noisy, because it's difficult to see or hear under the lion head.
__________________ "Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san
"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...
Originally
Posted By: HungFamilyFist
My school uses 3 beats. The 3-star, 5-star, and 7-star. They are all variations on the same rhythm, but are distinct. Our cymbals are time to accentuate certain drum beats. that loud Crack you get, our cymbals make sure that some of those are not drowned out.
As far as the steps, they vary, obviously. But most are stances we do every day in class, timed to the beat. Much of what we do is also freestyle.
Im going to attempt to imbed this, but reguardless, the link goes to my schools lion dance video.
i got it working. If you don't see the video, it may be the firewall you are behind. I just used the 'Media" button and the link from youtube for the imbeded video.
as far as transition, we have a beat we call 'Highwalk' that is between each dance. THen the drummer plays the dance, then there is an 'ending' beat, where we can pick from any of our various endings('The lion pounces', 'the lion roars', '7-star wave', etc). After the endings are done, it goes back into the highwalk. Rinse/repeat.
__________________ "When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." ~Old Japanese Saying
----------------------------
Hung Gar/Win Chung student
Good video and posts. Thanks for the help. I am looking for the more traditional approach to the lion dance. What about all the different emotions and their order, as well as the various 'tests' or methods for the lion to eat the greens?
__________________
"If you meet Buddha on the road, Kill him."
Not quite sure what else to give you. If you want the most traditional training for lion dance, then i would say the most traditional part is the 4 - 6 months we spend before the new year celebrations practicing the dances, stances, drumming, and all aspects of it. That act of going in every week just to work on the lion dance. The new year is 2 weeks of shows, but the real part is the months of practice before hand.
__________________ "When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." ~Old Japanese Saying
----------------------------
Hung Gar/Win Chung student
Like HFF says, it's very difficult to give someone all the information they need to know to perform a lion dance successfully. I was going over some of my training notes today and, while I can understand them because I was at the training sessions and can look at my squiggly diagrams and go "oh yeah, that was when we did such-and-such footwork drill," I'm not sure anyone else could get them.
It's also not enough to know the steps. I picked up the drumbeat, cymbals, the rudimentary steps very easily. But breathing life into the lion takes hour upon hour of practice. And you must work with a partner to really get it down. Several months back my sifu told us after a frustrating practice, that this stuff isn't easy. He trained for two or three years before he felt comfortable with the lion dance. It's not unusual for students to train an entire season, even two or three, and not perform in the lion.
Once, long ago, a book was written about lion dance training by a master out on the west coast. It's been out of print for at least 5 years now, and checking their website all the copies have been sold. I'm not sure that any other book exists that details lion dancing.
__________________ "Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san
"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...
Sammygirl,
Any idea what the name and author of that book is? I will hunt for it for awhile if you can send the info.
I learned the basic stancs and footwork and even some tricks for the team to practice. It just seemed like there had to be more. I think from a standpoint of watching performances that the best part of the dance is when the lion is really alive, and that will takes the hours of prctice. Thanks a lot! Anymore advice would be greatly appreciated.
__________________
"If you meet Buddha on the road, Kill him."
Chinese Lion Dance Explained
$54.95US
Dr. William Hu
410p. illus., 1995
Ars Ceramica, Ltd
PO Box 7366
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107-7366
There's also:
Advanced Lion Dances of China
$39.95US + $5 shipping & handling
Sifu Tat Mau Wong
60 minutes, 1988 Panther Productions
1010 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
But another search didn't turn up any way to purchase these online ... Panther Productions forwards to another MA sales site and there's no listing I could find for either of them. You might contact their schools directly (by phone) and ask if the book/video are in print.
__________________ "Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san
"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...
Dr. Hu's book was placed on this site. Just click on "Books" in the menu. It's a little strange to navigate, looks like they want ppl to be able to read it but not copy it. So, there ya go.
Now gimme a cookie.
Edit: Looks like only about 10 pages were put up, from Chapter 1. Still some good histories, though.
__________________ "Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san
"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...
Last edited by Sammygirl; April 27th, 2007 at 08:38 AM.
Lion Dance Info Needed 
