EIX2002 SOCIOLOGY E-BLOG CASE STUDY

LION DANCE 

CONTENT

WHAT IS LION DANCE?

(Street Art in Seremban  from https://asianitinerary.com/street-art-seremban/)

(lion dance in Seremban)

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan is a small town that is quite famous with Lion Dance. For the sake of upholding and preserving the heritage of Chinese martial sport, various associations have been established, among which includes Xuan Long Dragon And Lion Dance Negeri Sembilan Association, Long Yi Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Club. 

According to Chinese traditional culture, the lion dance is done to shoo away goblins and demons, and because goblins, ghosts, supernatural forces, and giants like 'Nian' dislike noises, the dance is becoming a perfect addition to the fire crackers' noise. 

Lion dance is a popular Chinese dance held on a separate occasion, such as the Harvest Festival (Chinese New Year) for good fortune, as it is presumed that the lion is a propitious beast. The lion symbolizes strength, intelligence, and dominance in Chinese culture. People do lion dances at Chinese festivals or have a big potential to turn blessing and scare away demonic possession. Lion dance is one of the most main motivators of the Chinese New Year. It's made to establish capacity and good luck to the new year. Lion dancing is also a method to develop a festive mood and spread pleasure. Executed in a lion's outfit, followed by the rhythm of pounding drums, clashing mallets and deafening baubles, lion dances mimic the lion's different gestures or show capoeira endurance, depending upon the type. 

Type of lion dance 

The lion dance has divided into two styles: southern and northern.

The Southern Lion Dance in Guangdong and is a popular stereotype in Hong Kong, Macau. Southern lion dance is a show focused on the nature and significance of the lion, with a focus on behaviors such as scraping, spinning the body, and licking the hair. Antics are lively and humorous, sometimes hilarious. There are also talented actions, such as performing with a ball, which involves swallowing.

Northern Lion Dance is deep ties to "Kungfu", the Chinese martial arts. A juvenile lion is carried out by a single man and an adult lion by a pairing. The costumes are much more durable and perhaps less dramatic to encourage smoother motion. In adult lion performing, the dancer in front with the lion's head is always raised by another to enable the lion rise up. Northern lion dances are more acrobatic, involving tossing, wrestling, leaping, spinning, climbing, or swinging.