Monday, January 11, 2010

What You Know About The Lion Dance

By Gregg Hall

Are you fascinating in knowing concerning the Lion Dance? This article can tell you all that you need to know. Well, it is a very ancient half of Chinese culture, and therefore the dance essentially mimics the movements of a lion, a person doing it in an exceedingly lion costume. The lions that are depicted in Chinese culture are Asiatic lions, which are found in India. In fact, the Lion Dance actually originated in India, a country where the lion is thought to be a creature of guardianship.

Today, the Lion Dance has several variations in different Asian cultures like Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Malaysia, etc. and Sydney - and therefore the dance varies from region to region, in the shape of distinct designs and movements. As an example, in Japanese culture, the Lion Dance is practiced as Shishimai, a apply that meant dancing around symbols of alternative animals like deer.

The Chinese Lion Dance can be of 2 main types - Northern and Southern. The previous was used as a kind of entertainment for the imperial court, and also the northern lion is red, orange and yellow, sometimes the female lion is depicted as having green fur. The lion also encompasses a shaggy look, and encompasses a golden head. The northern Lion Dance itself is highly acrobatic in nature, and is typically performed for the purpose of entertainment. Dangerous stunts are sometimes performed by them.

The Lion Dance, on the other hand, is more symbolic in nature. The aim of its performance is sometimes to exorcise evil spirits, and to bring in fortune and sensible luck. The southern lion will have a wide selection of colors, and therefore the animal itself has a distinctive head with massive eyes, there is a mirror on the forehead, and on the middle of the pinnacle is a single horn. Don't ever confuse the Lion Dance with the Chinese Dragon Dance, that is totally different. The latter is done with a team of 10 or a lot of people, whereas the Lion Dance usually is created of simply 2 dancers. The Lion Dance is closely connected to the apply of Kung Fu, and also the people who dance it could be members of the local Kung Fu Club. Some rigorous training is needed in order to master the Lion Dance.

The northern Lion Dance has the dancers appearing in pairs, and throughout their performance, the lions sometimes resemble Pekingese or Fu Dogs, the movements are realistic and life-like. They perform stunts like balancing on a giant ball, or doing lifts. It is quite common for the northern lions to look as a family, there are sometimes two giant adult lions, and a try of tiny young lions. On the other hand, the homeland of the southern style of the Lion Dance is Guangdong, and therefore the southern Cantonese style can be more sub-divided into Hok Shan (Crane Mountain), Fat Shan (Buddha Mountain), Fat Hok (this is a mixture of the previous two), Jow Ga, and also the Inexperienced Lion (which is very common with the Taiwanese).

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