Showing posts with label Northern Lion Dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northern Lion Dance. Show all posts

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Some Special Green in Lion Dance

The setting of the ‘Green’ (青) in Lion Dance performance have many types and patterns, for related opening ceremony or Chinese New Year, the ‘Green’ (青) for Chinese restaurant was commonly set in ‘Crab Green’ --蟹青, which related to their business (Crab is one of the popular Chinese Cuisine).For Supermarket wise, we use “Five Luck Coming to You” (五福临门), for rice merchandiser or warehouse companies which not welcoming the rats that always spoilt their good stocks, we usually using “Snake Green” (蛇青) because rats always scared snakes.

There are lot more unique Greens in lion dance performance which you should be seldom seen them.

This is ‘Cheers with the Deity’ (八仙敬酒)Encounter the Hero under the Moon (月下访英雄)One of the very unique and hardly seen Green --- “9 Segment Formation” (九子连环青)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Plucking the Green in Lion Dance . 采青

To make the performance of plucking the green in lion dance much more interesting, the ‘Green’ (or the “food” for the lion) had been designed in various formations. The design of the ‘Green’s formation is also used to test the skills of the lion dancers. There were many type of ‘Green’ Formations and given in many different names.
"五福临门青"(Five Prosperity Green)is one of the common Green formations in various commercial events.
"仙人指路青"(Deity's Guidance Green)
"蜈蚣青"(Centipede Green)
"北斗七星阵" (Seven Northern Stars Formation)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Plucking the Green in Lion Dance . 采青

Usually, after the lion dance performance for either Chinese New Year or opening ceremony, the related party will pay us the fees, other than events booking.

In traditional and standard lion dance way, the payment will put in the Chinese Red package (红包袋) and tie with green vegetables and then put them on the floor or hang them on bamboo .
All of us see this ‘Lion’ as a live animal; hence we let it ‘eat’ its ‘food’ in an animal’s habit, which was the reason. At the end of the performance, the lion will ‘eat’ it ‘food’, the name given of this ‘food’ is called “青” in Chinese Character, in English is called “Green” while we translate directly.

In pure stage lion dance performances we may not see the lion do any ‘food eating action’, but it will happen commonly during Chinese New Year events and Opening Ceremony.

The ‘food eating action’ in lion dance performance in Chinese word is called “采青”, means “Plucking the Green”, we believe this will bring lucks to everyone especially the related parties.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

Time fly as arrow, today is first day of 2010!
After yesterday’s celebration, you can found that the decoration of the street and shopping centers are changing to Chinese New Year themes, many shops was selling Chinese New Year stuffs.Talking about Chinese New Year, for those in the Chinese Cultural related industries, which providing lion dance, dragon dance and related entertainment and merchandise will be having the busies period starting from this month January and February.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Northern Lion Dance. 北狮

Since lion dance is a culture of Chinese and developed since from ancient China, it can be divided in northern type (北狮) and southern type (南狮).
Not like Southern Lion Dance, the performers of the Northern Lion Dance usually need 3 persons besides the percussion team to play for the background ‘music’, which 2 person doing the lion dance and one person play the role as a warrior.
The rhythm of the drum beat for Northern Lion Dance was slower than Southern Lion Dance, and some of the music instruments were smaller as well.