With a thunderous drumbeat, three vibrantly colored lions of fur and papier-mâché spring to life. Beneath each costume, two dancers move as one, responding to the drum’s rhythm and to each other. They twist and turn through clouds of smoke and the deafening roar of fireworks on the grounds outside the Chùa Cát Tường Buddhist Temple in Garden City.
The 16-member group, made up of high school and college students, has practiced twice a week for months in preparation for the Lunar New Year celebration.
Inspired by other local lion dancers they watched in Coastal Georgia as children, Harrison Tran, Thai Vo, and Richard Nguyen founded the Golden Koi Lion Dance Association to continue the centuries-old tradition. The Asian community comprises less than 3% of Coastal Georgia’s population.
Split into teams, members train for hours at the Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Thunderbolt, which serves the Vietnamese-American community. Some learn traditional percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals. Others refine acrobatic movements that often leave them drenched in sweat by the end of a 20-minute performance.
Nguyen traveled to Vietnam to study Hok San, a Southern-style form of lion dance common in southern China and Vietnam. He now spends practices passing along what he learned, teaching the lion’s low stances derived from traditional martial arts poses.
“It’s way more intense than people realize,” said Nguyen. “You’re holding stances for long periods. You’re jumping. You’re carrying weight. It takes a lot of trust between you and your partner.”
Rooted in Chinese and Vietnamese culture, lion dancing dates back to the Tang Dynasty, from 618 to 907 A.D. It is often performed at celebrations, weddings, business openings, school festivals, and community events.
“Traditionally, lion dances are meant to ward off evil spirits and bring good energy, good luck, and wealth,” Vo said. That belief is one reason lion dancing is closely tied to Lunar New Year celebrations.
Lunar New Year, known as Tết in Vietnamese culture, marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is considered the most important holiday of the year. Families gather to share traditional foods and honor their ancestors. Lion dances and fireworks are a part of the celebration meant to drive away negative energy and invite good fortune, protection, and prosperity into the new year.
It is also a time to pass traditions to younger generations.
“When I was growing up, I thought it was so cool, with all the drums and costumes,” Nguyen said. “But as I got older, I realized lion dance was a way for me to show my culture.”
For many Vietnamese American families, particularly those whose relatives were among the more than 1 million refugees who resettled in the United States after the Vietnam War, traditions like lion dance offer a tangible connection to identity and to their ancestral homeland.
“For me, lion dancing serves as an opportunity for younger Vietnamese American children, many of whom are second or third generation and might not be in touch with their culture or their language, to interact with a part of that culture,” Tran said. “It’s about bridging a gap for younger generations and preserving something for older generations.”
This article appears in Coastal Lens.
You must be logged in to post a comment.