Practice English Speaking&Listening with: How martial artists bring the traditional lion dance to life

The lion was considered a monster or a beast that nobody ever have seen before.

My name is Alan Tang, I'm the head coach here at Sunny Tang Martial Arts. Lions don't

originate from China, it's more of a mystical creature. So the fable says that

the town or village that was tormented by this lion had to call on the martial

artists to save them. So, as a martial artist what we learn first and foremost

is a non-violent solution. So instead of trying to fight the lion, the martial

artists using their wits created a replica of the lion and together with

loud drums, loud cymbals, and firecrackers they warded off this beast. The lion

dance is found at a martial arts school it's not found at a dance school it's

it's performed by martial artists. So it utilizes martial arts abilities the

stances, the acrobatics, the jumps, the power, and very important is the

expression. It's a two-person puppet. The lion head controls the eyes, the

mouth, the movement of the head, and the expression whereas the second person is

controlling the tail. The toughest part is making the lion come alive. The

harmony and the coordination between the head, the tail, the music, the ambiance, and

the energy that the lion dance brings that's very, very important but to make the lion

look real is always the toughest part. We are going to be at UTSC

this year on...I forget which day. 29th that might be. You have to, my

schedule is just so crazy.