As I write this post I am physically exhausted! Today we did a Chinese Lion Dancing workshop that was put on by the Hung Mun Athletic Club here in Edmonton. http://www.hungmun.com/ It was a free workshop aimed at giving information to people about Lion Dancing and possibly getting more people involved. This was probably the most "different" activity we have done this year and also the most fun. We had a blast. The workshop started out by having the senior dancers do a performance then they did a quick slide show that gave a brief history of Sung Mun and Lion dancing. Then we did a "warm up". Let's just say that by the end of it we were boiling, not warm. The warm up included learning some of the basic stances and moves that we would need once we started to learn our routine. Lion Dancing has it's routes in Kung Fu so alot of the basic moves come from Kung Fu. Next, they split us up into pairs, Ken and I went together, then they put 5 pairs in each group. We learned a routine that was about 5 minutes long. We repeated it, for what felt like, a million times. The routine and Lion Dancing in general takes alot of leg strength. I don't think I am going to be able to walk tomorrow! The instructors were so awesome. They were really nice and patient. They also stressed that they totally don't discriminate so even though we are not Asian we felt like we fit right in. This is one of those activities that I would totally recommend to anyone. If you ever get the chance to learn Lion dancing, DO IT! Just be ready for leg killing "Horse Pose". Just to spread the word, they do free lessons on Saturdays if anyone is interested. It is an awesome workout. We are actually considering continuing on with it. The beginner lessons are only 45 minutes every Saturday. We just don't know how that will fit into our already busy life! (especially since we applied for a part time job last week, although we haven't received a call yet) Anyway, here are some pictures of the beautiful Lions! Unfortunately we didn't get any of us in the costumes because we were taking the photos!
This is Ken at the beginning of the workshop. We had no idea what they had in store for us!
The instructors wore red shirts and belts
They also played all of their own music. You had to match your movements to the beat of the drum.
One of the groups getting ready for their final performance.
One of the performances about to start. They are in the leg killing "horse pose". It doesn't look that hard but when you have to stand with your legs apart like that in a squat position all day it really starts to hurt!!
This is during the dance. The 5 Lions have to weave in and out in a figure 8. We didn't have any major crashes which is amazing! The instructors were helping out though so that didn't happen.
Today I learned Lion Dancing but more importantly I learned a new respect for the physical fitness and dedication of the dancers!!
That looks fabulous! Wow, those are so beautiful.
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