After the hard covid-19 winter, tough lions in Australia began to become active again
With drums pounding, the golden lion finally catches the "青"（Qing）, a spherical lettuce, on the high platform built by red chairs. Cheers broke out from the auditorium at the moment lion threw out the little lettuce! Some spectators even made a gesture to catch that vegetable.
Looking around, the different skin tones of the audience show that they are from different cultures. But obviously, they are all familiar with lion dance performances. They even knew and believe that lettuce will bring good luck!
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
Lion dance performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance, video by Yuqing Tan
A long-awaited event: The Victoria lion dance teams put on wonderful shows at the 150th Bendigo Easter Fair again after a year of silence
This exciting scene at the top appeared at the 150th Bendigo Easter Fair on April 3, 2021. This Fair postponed last year because of Coronavirus concerns.
During the Fair, many Victoria lion dance teams, including Bendigo Chinese Association (BCA) lion dance team and the Chinese Masonic Society(CMS) lion dance team, put on several excellent performances at the Bendigo Chinese Association Performance at Ulumbarra Theatre.
Bendigo Ulumbarra Theatre, photo by Yuqing Tan
Bendigo Ulumbarra Theatre, photo by Yuqing Tan
Poster of Bendigo Easter Fair, photo by Yuqing Tan
Poster of Bendigo Easter Fair, photo by Yuqing Tan
BCA lion dance team leader Clinton Miller called their shows at this year's Bendigo Easter Fair Performance a highlight of their team. Their lion dance team has over a hundred years of history.
The Bendigo show was their first major performance since the outbreak began. It was also the first time they performed in a formal theatre at Bendigo Easter Fair.
"Usually we have Easter show in our Chinese precinct, which is the old Chinatown in bridge street, in Bendigo, where the museum is," said Mr Miller.
Clips of BCA Performance on Bendigo Easter Fair, video by Yuqing Tan
At the same time, Mr Miller said this year's performance is a unique challenge for the BCA lion dance team.
According to Kellie Miller, another team leader of the BCA lion dance team, their team only had six weeks to prepare for this performance. Mrs Miller said they participated in four performances in two days and performed five programs in each performance during the Bendigo Fair.
"That's what was very impressive with our team being able to do that. After such a long time of not doing anything. We have to go from nothing to the Top-level." Mr Miller said of this complicated situation.
The change of performance venue was another challenge faced by the Bendigo team. "All of a sudden picking that up and on a world-class stage, we have to learn all the rules of stage performances, lighting, and all of those intricacies," said Mr. Miller.
The CMS Lion Dance Team participated in two Bendigo Chinese Association Performances on April 3. The CMS lion dance team is the first lion dance team in Melbourne, which located in Chinatown.
Joe Zhou, the CMS lion dance team leader, said their preparation time is only three weeks, which is even shorter than the BCA lion dance team.
"In normal situations, we would prepare for the performance at Bendigo easter fair for six months or more," said Zhen Lin, who is a team member of the CMS lion dance team.
Mr Lin said that their team cherished the opportunity to perform in Bendigo. "Because of the lack of events of late, it was really good to join a significant event," he said. And Mr Lin explained the lion and dance show of Bendigo Easter Fairs was one of the grandest shows of its kind in Australia.
He and Mr Zhou are satisfied with this year's Bendigo Chinese Association Performance form and arrangement.
"This year's performance was in a theatre and the MC was quite good in telling the audience a little bit of history and background about lion dancing," said Mr Zhou.
This year, the CMS Lion Dance Team provided a performance that was completed by the cooperation of five lions. And Mr Zhou explains some of the special meaning of the story of their performance.
Clip of CMS lion dance on Bendigo Easter Fair with Mr. Zhou's explanation, video by Yuqing Tan
The Easter Fair in Bendigo is the most important event for the Victoria lion dance team next to Luna New Year. As Mrs Miller said, "Apart from the new year, when all the teams get together in Melbourne, in Chinatown, there is no other big lion event in Victoria."
And Mr Lin said their team were almost started preparing for next year's lion dance show at the Bendigo Easter Fair.
At the beginning of 2021, with the strict supervision of the health department and the gradual promotion of the Covid-19 vaccine, the Covid-19 outbreak has been significantly controlled. With the relaxation of Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions in various states, life in Australia got back on track. At the same time, not only Victoria’s lions but most lions all over Australia are also waking up from Covid-19 winter.
Rebirth from the ashes: A lion dance team that became better after the Covid-19 epidemic
In March 2021, the CMS lion dance team members reunited in the training room after experiencing the third Covid-19 lockdown in Melbourne. Repeated lockdown is frustrating, but it did not affect CMS team members' friendship and enthusiasm for lion dance.
"Covid has actually changed the club for the better," said Mr Lin. He has been a member of the CMS lion dance team for more than four years. He joined this team because of his father, a team member of this lion dance team.
Mr Zhou said, "The epidemic has made the connection between our team members closer." As he said, during the lockdown, in addition to organizing weekly real-time online training through Zoom, some members also spontaneously created a video series to help other members train on their own time.
"For me, personally, I really like how a lot of team members stepped up during the lockdown period to continue the operations of the club, even though they did not have to," said Mr Lin.
As he said, no one left the team during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Quick quiz: Why people join CMS lion dance team? video by Yuqing Tan
Regarding the recent order quantity of their CMS lion dance team, "It's getting busy. And requires are definitely improving." Said Mr Lin.
As Mr Lin said, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, their chances of performing were at least halved during the past year. "We have a period that all the weddings were cancelled due to the lockdown," Said Mr Lin.
But they did not miss out on those performances completely. Mr Zhou said that because most weddings were postponed rather than cancelled, many prospective couples placed orders with the CMS lion dance team after the lockdown was lifted.
For the future of the CMS lion dance team, both Mr Zhou and Mr Lin are full of confidence. "We're seeing more members this year. We're seeing bigger attendance during regular Sunday training. A good motivation, really. ", said Mr Lin when asked about the current operation of the lion dance team.
On April 29th - a few weeks after Melbourne's strict lockdown ended - CMS's lions gathered for the opening of a Chinese restaurant called JUQI Old Beijing Hot Pot. During the interview, the other CMS lion dance team's members were doing the final rehearsal upstairs.
The long Covid Lockdown did not make the people who love lion dance forget them
In the 2021 Lunar New Year affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, Chik Sing Chua, an Asian general practitioner living in the north of Melbourne, still invited BCA's lion dance to offer New Year blessings to his community.
However, Mr Chua said that the lion dance performance was carried out through an online live broadcast due to social distance restrictions.
"I will always support the lion dance art," said Mr Chua, he is a loyal fan of Chinese lion dance and an old friend of the Bendigo BCA lion dance team.
Mr Chua said Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in February once made him want to abandon this year's plan about invite the lion dance team to perform in the new year. But he has been waiting hopefully for new notices from the government.
"Just one week before the scheduled performance date, I received the good news that the crowd restriction was relaxed!" said Mr Chua with a cheerful tone.
For why Mr Chua insists on inviting the lion dance team to perform this year's New Year's performance even through an online live broadcast? Mr Chua said the reason is family's and neighbours' expectation and love for this performance.
"Whether it is my children or the neighbour's children, everyone was looking forward to the annual Lunar New Year party and the lion dance performance," said Mr Chua.
Since 2016, Mr Chua always invites the BCA lion dance team to his home to perform for his family and neighbours during Lunar New Year.
In the Lunar New Year in 2019 and 2020, he even took the lion dance performance to his children's school to show more children the lion dance art.
Mr Chua said he would continue to support the lion dance in the future. "If I can afford to sponsor the lion dance more, I will try my best to let my next generation to have more contact with the lion dance," said Mr Chua.
He believes getting in touch with lion dance can help the young generation know more about their ancestral culture.
Mr Chua even had an idea of inviting lion dance teams to hold a Try Day in the school in the future. "If the lion dance team can bring the lions to school, give the students a chance to try out the equipment, I will quite appreciate it. I would love to organize such an event," said Mr Chua.
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua during the 2021 Lunar New Year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua during the 2021 Lunar New Year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua during the 2021 Lunar New Year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua during the 2021 Lunar New Year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua in the past year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua in the past year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua in the past year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Performance by the BCA Lion Dance Team for Mr Chua in the past year, photo by Chik Sing Chua
Zoe Thompson, who is a consultant living in Canberra, invited the Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance (PMDLD) lion dance team to perform at her mother's birthday party in February this year.
As Mrs Thompson said, she is not a Chinese Australian, but she is very interested in the lion dance. That was the second time she has invited a lion dance troupe to perform at her private party.
Mrs Thompson said it was an exceptional experience for her to have the lion dance troupe perform at home.
"I feel that it's fun and it's different and exciting, ……, it was such a lovely experience to have them for that celebration," said Mrs Thompson.
Same as Mr Chua, Mrs Thompson is happy to continue supporting the lion dance art in the future. She said she is willing to introduce lion dance to her friends. And she plans to invite a lion dance troupe to perform at her private party next year.
Audio reports: The value of lion dance today
The lion dance, as auspicious folk art, was brought to Australia by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century amid the gold rush. By 2021, there are more than 30 lion dance teams distributed all over Australia.
Today, besides bringing "auspiciousness" to the Chinese community in Australia, lion dance art has also created new values for its members and the community. These values include physical values, spiritual values, community values, and cultural values.
Here, let's take a look at the value lion dance has brought to Australia in recent years with professor Claire Roberts from the school of culture and communication at the University of Melbourne, and four dance teams from Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne.
The interviewed lion dance team and their interviewees:
Chinese Youth League （CYL） Lion and Dragon Dance team-Lokman Leung
Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance (PMDLD) team-David Wong and Kacey Lam form
BCA lion dance team-Kacey Lam
CMS lion dance team-Zhen Lin and Joe Zhou
Different lion dance teams have different plans for the future
The BCA lion dance team plans to launch a trial day in June to recruit some new members. As Mr Miller said, people interested in lion dance can communicate with the lion dance team's members and try to use the equipment of lion dance training in this day.
The main reason for holding this event is to show the hard training behind lion dance performances and recruit people who want to become lion dancers.
Mr Miller said, "Come a trial day. That way, people can come along and say, this is really what it takes to become a lion dancer. It is about having fun, training hard. And one day, you get on the lion."
For the number of new members that are likely to be recruited, Mr Miller said, "Maybe 20 people turn up to the common trial day. If we get to keep two or three, that's actually a really good result."
Usually, the parade activity at Easter Fair every year is equivalent to a "Trial day". As Mr Miller said, the public can sign up to become part of the parade before the event. And they have the chance to carry up a part of the dragon in the parade.
Mr Miller said the experience of participating in the parade might prompt the participants to have the idea of carrying up a Lion and joining the lion dance team. However, this year's parade has been postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The CMS Lion Dance Team has no specially planned recruitment activities recently. Mr Lin said, "We like to grow naturally."
Their team always welcomes people who really want to join the lion dance team. "We always like to expand, in terms of getting new members. That is because we want to introduce more members to Chinese lion dance culture," said Mr Lin.
Mr Zhou said the CMS lion dance team had recruited a group of new members this year, which means their team has even grown stronger than the pre-Covid-19 period.
Sydney's CYL lion dance team does not plan to expand their team recently. CYL lion dance team is a team located in Chinatown in Sydney with nearly 50 years of history.
As the team leader Lokman Leung said, "We always want to look for new members. Because we want to expand lion dancing as a culture, but physically our team is very hard to keep up the growth rate."
In Mr Leung's view, expanding their lion dance team must prepare and change too many things. And he thinks their team does not have enough financial, material, and human resources to do that recently.
As Mr Leung said, "Expanding the team means that we have to expand our training space. And expanding our training space is very difficult. Because not only is it very expensive to buy adequate space for training. On the area space. you should need a lot of ceiling height."
And Mr Leung said, the venue that could meet such requirements was the concert hall, which is usually reluctant to rent out to lion dance team.
"If you get new members, you need to have new teachers," said Mr Leung for the consideration of human resources.
In addition, Mr Leung also believes that their team may lose some geographical advantages if they move away from Chinatown, which nearby Sydney's CBD.
However, Mr Leung is not worried that their team will face a shortage of dancers. He said their team already has some young members with potential and talent.
Mr Leung reminds those lion dance teams that expand without any careful consideration. As he said, the way to develop a team better is to recruit more members but maintain the quality of the group at the same time.
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