Chinese dragon and lion dances are traditionally performed by men, but recently a video of a female lion dance team in Guangzhou has attracted a lot of attention on the Internet. This all-female lion dance team now has over 20 members, breaking gender bias. Step by step he has won many honors such as Gold Award in Baiyun District Youth Lion Dance Competition, Gold Award in Guangzhou Youth Lion Dance Performance Competition and Best Drum Music Award.
Red Star News reported that Nanxing Hexing Hall’s female lion dance team in Renhe Town, Guangzhou City was established in the 1980s and accepted only boys until 2018 when six girls joined for the first time. After a year of lion dance training, the girls finally had the opportunity to perform on stage with the male team members and go door-to-door in the village to greet the new year. Unexpectedly, many villagers welcomed the female team. The team members were taken to the spot on the grounds that “lion dance is inauspicious for girls”. Switching to male players, even if the coach persuades them for gender equality, is pointless.
To prove to the villagers that lion dance isn’t just for men, coaches Yu Weizhao and Zhang Zeliang decide to set up a special women’s lion dance team. “You can say that my team members aren’t skilled enough, but they can’t be fired because of their gender.” In July 2019, the Hexingtang Women’s Lion Dance Team was established. Although he was still harshly criticized by the villagers along the way, this did not stop him from focusing on improving his skills. He performed horse pose, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. without getting dirty.
Member Zhong Minting joined the Lion Dance Team at the age of 11. When she first started practicing basic skills, she was so tired that she wanted to cry. There were three horse postures, each of which took 15 minutes. Keep an eye on you” But he never thought of giving up, and even took the opportunity to practice the Golden Rooster independence while brushing his teeth. Finally, because of his excellent jumping ability and balance Trusting the spirit, he won the opportunity to become the lion’s head.
The most difficult role in the Lion Dance Team, “Lion Tail”, is played by Liu Qiqi, who just turned 18 this year. She often needs to climb heights, but “actually, I’m a little scared of heights.” She said that when she first joined the Lion Dance team, she did not dare to climb the pole at all, and only under the guidance of Master did she overcome her psychological fear step by step.
“It doesn’t hurt, I’ve been used to it for a long time.” This is what this group of girls often say. Talking about the biggest difficulty he faced in the past, Zhong Minting replied with a smile: “No difficulty, not too difficult, the previous one is forgotten, anyway any difficulty is solved one by one.” can be done.”
As of July 2021, the Hexingtang Women’s Lion Dancing Team won the championship in the women’s standard group of the “Southern Lion and Drum King” competition of the Chinese nation. Since then, this team has consistently won accolades. So far, the Hope Hing Church Women’s Lion Dance Team has arranged a series of events such as “Taoyuan Jieyi” and “Crossing Mountain and Mountain Backgammon”.
Talking about future plans, team members Li Jiawen, Zhong Minting and Liu Qiqi all said that even if they go to study and live in other cities in the future, they will always be in the Lion Dance team. Zhong Minting said that seeing a lion is like seeing herself, and she has already been integrated with the lion. Liu Qiqi said: “I want to persevere, teach more new members, and let this culture grow.”
China
