Chinese Lion Dance Party - Birthday Parties, Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Brandon, Weddings, Chinese Kung Fu, Chinese Dragon Party, Birthday Party, Chinese New Year, Dragon Dance, Childrens Parties, Special Events, Entertainment,

Chinese Lion Dance or Chinese Dragon Dance Chinese Lion Dance Party - Birthday Parties, Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Brandon, Weddings, Chinese Kung Fu, Chinese Dragon Party, Birthday Party, Chinese New Year, Dragon Dance, Childrens Parties, Special Events, Entertainment - Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland, Brandon, Plant City, Land O Lakes, Lutz, Zephyrhills, Valrico, Seffner, Orlando, Hillsborough & Pasco County FL. Chinese Lion Dance or Chinese Dragon Dance- provides personal private & park instruction in Lakeland, Brandon, Land O Lakes, Lutz, Zephyrhills, Valrico, Seffner, Orlando, Hillsborough & Pasco County FL areas.

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We designed this site to give you more information on this life saving Lakeland martial art. Our Lakeland martial arts school teaches students how to survive in situations, to improve there mind body and spirit.

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Articles on the Polk Voice

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The Chinese Lion Dance goes back some one thousand years. The first record of the performance of an early form of the Lion Dance dates to the early Ch’in and Han Dynasties (Third Century B.C.)

The lions express joy and happiness. From the fourth day to the fifteenth of the New Year, lion dance groups would tour from village to village in traditional China.

Both lions and dragons figure in New Year’s Parades and other celebrations throughout the year. The Lion Dance also plays an important role in the consecration of temples and other building, at business openings, planting and harvest times, official celebrations, and religious rites. There are even Lion Dance competitions featuring troupes from countries as far from China as Mexico.

The northern lion has a mane and four legs and is generally more realistic than the southern lion, which has a drape and can have two or four legs. One performer holds the lion’s head with both hands and another crouches at the lion’s tail. The southern lion’s head looks is shaped more like a dragon’s but its without horns or a long snout. The southern lion makes dramatic head thrusts to the sound of drums and gongs; the northern lion makes great use of its prancing legs in its dance.

The lion dance practiced in the United States originates from the Guangdong Province. This lion and its performance are different from the Northern Lions seen in Beijing Opera or acrobatic performances. The lion dances usually are performed by members of gong-fu (kung-fu) schools and reflect that gong-fu style. For example, in Hung Gar (Hung Jia in Mandarin), the students practice very deep “horses” (stances), with the power coming from the twisting and rotation of the waist. In Choy Lay Fut (Tsai Li Fo), movements are quicker. No matter what style, the lion movements are feline in nature.

For a proper lion dance, the movements must match the music played by a minimum of three pieces: drum, gong and cymbal. Either the person performing in the lion head or the drummer initiates the movement and signals the other, so that the movement and music is synchronized. Certain movements must follow a specified sequence: for example, the 3-Star movement, then the 7-Star movement, followed by High Dance. Variations to the basic beats help keep the music lively. The loud music, along with the firecrackers and lion movements, are used to scare away “evil spirits” so that good luck will follow. Lion dances are performed to bring luck and to ward off evil spirits, as with the beginning of the Lunar New Year and grand opening of businesses, and now – minus the firecrackers – at weddings and even red egg/ginger parties celebrating the birth of a baby.

Having a lion dance team perform at a wedding is getting popular in the United States, but it usually isn’t cheap. The cost will depend on whether the wedding couple wants one or two lions, as well as how fancy a performance they want, how much experience the lion dance team has, and age of the performers. In addition, a table may also be reserved for the team to eat dinner after the performance.

Payment to the performing group is usually made through the Choy Cheng, or “Eating of the Green (Vegetable).“ In this country, it has come to symbolize money, the color of dollar bills. Usually. the lay see (li shir) is in the form of a hung bao (lucky red envelope with the payment enclosed) which is tied to some vegetable matter such as loose leaf lettuce. Since the lay see is attached to some vegetable, it’s called “choy cheng,” with choy literally meaning vegetable. The greens are placed in an area for the lion to “eat.” The lion will carefully approach the “green” and even test it to make sure that it is safe and not a firecracker or other dangerous item. After testing on the left and right sides, the lion will do a “3-Star” routine (stepping to the 3-Star music) to ward off any others that may want to eat his “green.”

I’ve heard of some tests that include using a coconut, crab, or a “Seven Stars and the Moon” arrangement of oranges. Sometimes Chinese martial arts weapons representing a snake are laid down on the floor before the lettuce. This is also used to test the lion since there is a special sequence to follow before reaching the lettuce. (Some other types of etiquette that may be followed include testing the door opening, bowing to certain Buddhas represented by figurines, and bowing to and exchanging business cards with another lion dance team.)

The lion will then pick up the green in his mouth and “chew” it. The person manipulating the head first removes the “lay see” and places it inside his shirt, so as not to drop it, which would mean bad luck. Then he will tear the lettuce apart and throw it out first to the left, then to the right and then to the middle to help spread prosperity in all directions. The music will then change to “high dance” and the head will be raised and moved as if the lion is happy to have consumed his prize.

I’ve seen some routines that included oranges or fish and have heard of some with coconuts or live crabs! Each routine is suppose to symbolize something. I only know of a few from watching others perform and from looking at instructional videos.

For parties, instead of the lion performing the “choy cheng,” or eating of the “green,” (spitting out the lettuce is too messy), usually a scroll with calligraphy wishing the couple good luck is prepared to be unfurled during the performance. For weddings, I’ve seen some calligraphy like “Bac Nien Ho Hop,” or “100 Years of Happy Togetherness.” This scroll can then be given to the lucky couple as a memento.

The lion dance team that I help coach did a lion dance at Dolch Electronics in Fremont recently, and since I had the day off, I was able to join them with me playing the large cymbals. I’m getting a little too old to get into the head. The team also did a performance at a Vietnamese nightclub that evening and did the Vietnamese Spring Festival parade in downtown San Jose, CA.

Our si-sook, or kung-fu uncle, came down to my sifu’s school every Friday to help purify our lion dance to the Hung Gar style, as each Southern kung-fu style (i.e. white crane, choy lay fut, yau kung moon, etc.) has their own style of lion dancing that reflects their style of kung-fu.

About The Lion Dance

Chinese Lion Dancing has two traditions, the Northern style and the older Southern style. At the Asian Martial Arts Studio of Ann Arbor, we perform the Classical Chinese Lion Dance of the Southern Style. Although the lion is not native to China, Buddhists and many others use it to represent courage, energy and wisdom. In this context the Chinese consider the lion to be a peaceful creature, unlike the fierce tiger which is native to the middle kingdom.

The Narrative of the Lion Dance

The Lion Dance begins in a cave, behind a closed portal, with a sleeping lion. An overweight Buddhist monk enters, looks around and prepares the shrine. He lights a lantern, opens the portal's double doors, sweeps away the dust and leaves, and lights candles and incense burners. He wakens the lion with a drum and gong and they play. Eventually the monk tries to entice the lion to pray before the altar, but the lion has other plans. When the lion gets bored, the monk teases him with some greens, which makes the lion angry, so he subsequently bites the monk. The lion then takes the greens from the monk and eats them. Sometimes additional greens are hung out of the lion's reach. Three times the lion disperses the greens onto the audience, giving them the blessings of wealth and good fortune. After a nap, the lion is ready to play again, but the monk has left, leaving the lion to dance by himself before backing into the cave.

The lion supposedly possesses mystical properties: When paired with the five colors (yellow, black, green, red and white) as the costume is colored, it is said to have control over the five cardinal directions. The costume is composed of many symbolic shapes. The bird shaped horn represents the phoenix. The ears and tail are of the unicorn. The protruding forehead, adorned with a mirror which deflects evil forces, and the long beard are characteristic of Asian dragons. The lion walks back and forth, in a zigzag path, in order to confuse evil spirits, which the Chinese believe move in straight lines. Finally, the act of eating and dispersing of the greens symbolizes the distribution of wealth and good fortune to all those present. These symbols combine to cure sickness, bless marriages and guard against misfortune.

The southern style Lion Dance has become an extension of the Chinese Martial spirit, and is always performed by students of Kung Fu. Following the Lion Dance, you will see forms, or choreographed routines, performed by the Lion Dancers. The early martial artists, studying in Buddhist temples, imitated the fighting styles of the animals in nature that they observed such as the tiger and the crane, the primary styles. Other styles include the leopard, praying mantis, eagle, snake and dragon. The forms you will see imitate the movements and characteristics of these animals.

The Chinese consider the lion dance to be a vehicle for dispensing all the good blessings of heaven to the whole community. It is done not only during the New Year's celebration but also on auspicious occaisions, and represents the hopes and aspirations of the Chinese people for all the good things life holds.

The lion dance is an extension of the Chinese martial arts and is always performed by martial artists. All the movements of the Lion are based on stances and positions from the Kung Fu taught at. Lion dancing develops strength, flexibility and endurance as well as the ability to work in team and overcome obstacles through group effort. Not only do the performers display strength, coordination, agility and endurance, they also exemplify the martial spirit in the "Ssu-wei", or the four basic supports of a State: "li," or decorum; :"i,, uprightness of mind (morality); "lien," honesty; and "chih," a sense of honor.