Once Upon A Time In Malaysia

February 21, 2003 9:25 AM

Once Upon A Time In Malaysia I’ve seen lion dances performed before but never anything like this. (windows media)
posted by snez (8 comments total)

"Not only must the lion dancer under the head excel at kung-fu, but he has to understand and imitate the lion's expression and habits. The idea is to make the papier-mache lion appear real” while the dancer performing in the lion’s tail “must duplicate the lead dancer's stances while remaining in an awkward, stooped posture and this dancer's vision is restricted.” The 2001 and 2002 championships are also online but the resolution is smaller. Quotes from here, additional info here and a gallery of pics here.
posted by snez at 9:29 AM on February 21, 2003

WOW.

that is truly amazing.
posted by th3ph17 at 9:45 AM on February 21, 2003

That is cool. Thanks, snez!
posted by DakotaPaul at 10:20 AM on February 21, 2003

The training these teams go through is intense. Members are cut for many of the same reasons you might cut somebody from a sport's team. As amazing as they are on video, they are mind-blowing live. Unreal.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:21 PM on February 21, 2003

i was in kuala lumpur for chinese new year's in 2000 -- wow, you have never seen such amazing acrobatics -- 2 teams of 2 guys each in lions up 20 feet on poles, jumping backwards 10 feet to land precisely on them. crazy crazy stuff

but then again, i'm a lion dance freak. we had them at our wedding...
posted by badzen at 12:58 PM on February 21, 2003

Fabulous!
posted by Soliloquy at 1:29 PM on February 21, 2003

That is really really cool. Thanks, snez.
posted by Galvatron at 3:52 PM on February 22, 2003

snez, thanks for the fabulous links, great post indeed! I was enchanted with the terrific lion dancers in the Cirque du Soleil's Dralion, so I am happy to find all these links and info here so I can explore this further. Amazing stuff!
posted by madamjujujive at 2:57 PM on February 23, 2003