Lion Dancing

→ By Dilan Chock-Makiya

I remember wandering around Chinatown when I was little with my mini hand-made Chinese lion puppet on a string, admiring its contrasting neon and pastel colors. I would ask my dad to carry me on the top of his shoulders so that I could see the different dances being performed by the life-sized “lions”—performers dancing underneath ornate lion costumes. I would admire the performers’ bravery when they came face to face with the firecrackers being set off amidst their dance moves. Black and gray smoke would fill the air, making it hard to see anything except the fiery sparks at the end of the firecracker ropes. Sometimes the loud sounds would scare me, so I would put on my dad’s noise-canceling headphones. Over time I became more comfortable with the deafening drums and explosive firecrackers that would throw gravel at my legs. While he enjoyed celebrating our Chinese heritage, my dad never forced me to keep going to Chinatown during the Lunar New Year season as I got older. However, something kept on drawing me back to the festive Chinatown streets every year.

Lion Dancing is a traditional dance that is performed in Chinese and other Asian cultures to welcome good luck and fortune to a new year and other important events. The performance is an athletic showcase, where two people go inside of a lion costume, and make it come to life in a dance driven by the beats of a percussion ensemble comprising a large Chinese drum and cymbals. The performers would demonstrate their athletic abilities by showing different movements such as an acrobatic style of dancing, going on top of the other person’s shoulders to reach for the money at the top of the firecracker rope, and matching every movement that they make with the beat of the drum. On Oahu, the biggest gathering of lion dance groups takes place annually in Chinatown in Honolulu during the Lunar New Year celebrations in the spring. Organized as a club, each lion dance group—an entourage of dancers and musicians— makes their way through the streets of Chinatown, visiting businesses to bring good luck for the new year, while onlookers gather to celebrate with fireworks, feast on dim sum, and give money to their favorite lions.

My uncle Jason Chong is a member of the Lung Kong Physical Culture Club and every year, we would join his club as they make their way through Chinatown. They have been participating in Lunar New Year events since 1958. Uncle Jason has had a passion for lion dancing and Chinese martial arts since he was three years old, banging on his mother’s pots and pans. At five years old, he began taking kung fu. Now, besides enjoying the physical challenges of lion dancing, he takes pride in putting on a good show. “The enjoyment is knowing that the performance we produce for the clients brings them joy and satisfaction,” he said. Uncle Jason is also invested in continuing an important cultural tradition. “There is a very significant cultural aspect to this art. Knowing the things I have learned from the people that came before me, I now need to uphold the traditions and pass them to the next generation; [it] is extremely important. There are many symbolic meanings to the protocols of lion dancing that took time to learn and understand”. There are many aspects of lion dancing that take dancers months or even years of practice. One of these are tricks. One of the most difficult moves that my uncle has had to master over the years is called the “standing shoulder stack.” The person playing the head of the lion stands on the shoulders of a tail player. “I was the person stacked in my younger, lighter days and later [I became] the base as I got bigger and stronger.”

Lion dance clubs gather at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in Chinatown every year to kick off the annual Lunar New Year celebrations. Here, my uncle’s club is on the move to the other businesses in the area after completing a performance at the plaza. The performers under the lion costiume are being guided by another performer as they make their way.

This year, my dad told me to bring my camera to Chinatown as I’d been taking a photography course at school. He told my Uncle Jason about it, and figured I could put my skills to the test. When taking pictures out on the street, I viewed lion dancing from a very different perspective than I normally would. Taking pictures from the sideline, and being able to go up with the lions while they perform their ceremonies was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The process taking the photos was challenging, because I had rocks flying at my camera lens, firecrackers popping two inches away from me, and I was trying to get the best shot without interfering with the lion dance routine. However, look back at this opportunity fondly, because while it was a tough job, it made me have more respect for the performers as I got to see up close what they had to do to put on a good show. My camera drew my eyes to all the facial expressions of the performers, each of their faces telling a different story and emotion. Some were excited by the beating of the drums, others were nervous about the firecrackers, a few were mad because someone was not doing their job, and others were happy because they were having fun. I feel like I saw a side of my community that I’d never seen before and I will definitely be going back for more.