Hung
Sheng Lion Dance Theater
Grand performance halls and gilded
theaters are not the best place to go in Taiwan to see
performing arts that really have a living and breathing
force of their own. For that you have to check out the
temples and shrines. You'll find everything there, including
traditional Chinese opera, folk-art troupes, one-man
shin-song acts, storytellers, jugglers, and more. There
is no better opportunity than a traditional temple fair
marking some special religious occasion for the work-a-day
masses to put aside their cares for a time and just
relax. And among the many types of performance at such
fairs, there's nothing more impressive than the lion
dance, with its mind-boggling combination of martial
arts prowess and acrobatic daring. In Taiwan, the undisputed
kings of the lion dance are the Hung Sheng Lion Dance
Theater.
Hung Sheng
was founded in 1988 by a group of men with a special devotion
to martial arts and the lion dance, two pursuits that
require tremendous physical ability. A lion dancer must
undergo rigorous martial arts training to handle the lion
head and put on a proper display of power and artistry.
The group's director, Cheng Yuan-zong, began training
very early in Chinese boxing and joined a lion dance troupe
at the age of 12, where he learned to play the drums and
gongs and developed fine lion dancing skills. At age 18
he helped his troupe master repair the group's lion, thus
picking up a skill that has very nearly passed out of
existence. When Hung Sheng Lion Dance Theater was founded,
Cheng and the other members made the lion head and all
the other accoutrements stitch by stitch in a painstaking
labor of love that kept them up to all hours of the night.
Thanks in no small measure to Cheng's ability to combine
mastery of traditional lion dancing with a spirit of innovation,
Hung Sheng won the Ministry of Education's Cultural Heritage
Award for folk art preservation just tow years after the
group's founding. In no time, Hung Sheng became highly
sought after for appearances throughout Taiwan, and was
often invited to perform overseas.
Lion dancers provide festivity and an auspicious note
on traditional holidays, and when the Hung Sheng lion
dancers make an appearance at any venue, be it a big national
event or just a regular temple fair, audiences are always
captivated by the cavorting lions as they nip at each
other and act alternately surprised, puzzled, charmed,
and frightened by everything in their immediate environment.
But there's more than mere cuteness on offer, for a first-rate
lion must be counted on to negotiate a difficult climb
to a plate of good-luck vegetables or perhaps a money-filled
red envelope. Posts of varying heights are planted in
the ground, and the lion's treacherous task in to jump
from the top of one post to another, performing various
acrobatic feats in order to reach the good-luck plate
and “grab the green.” This performance requires perfect
coordination between the two lion dancers, not to mention
superb acrobatic skills.
The highlight of any lion dance is the “flying lion”
performance, in which five lions (red, orange, green,
blue, and gold) all appear together. During the performance,
one of the lions suddenly vaults high into the air atop
a long pole. This thick never fails to elicit a gasp of
astonishment and delight from the crowd.
In 1996, Hung Sheng made a huge lion weighing almost 120
kilos and measuring some 18 feet in height and 28 feet
in length. It takes a dozen sturdy men to lift this imposing
creature, the largest dancing lion in the world.
To ensure the group's long-term success, Cheng has added
a lot of innovative new wrinkles to the group's performances.
The gong and drum team, for example, usually plays only
a supporting role at temple fairs, but Cheng has arranged
a number in which this team is the main attraction. Brawny
men best on ten large drums arranged in a circle, the
tempo always quick, frequently changing. At times they
bang away with one band, while at others they go to two
bands and double the thunder. And their loud yells add
to the power of their performance. This has become one
of the group's most important numbers.
In August 2001, Hung Sheng took part in an outdoor arts
festival at Lincoln Center in New York, where they arranged
a medley of traditional folk performances into a show
called ”Temple fair.” In addition to the already-famous
lion dance and the drum performance, the Lincoln Center
event also included a routine involving giant puppets
representing General Hsieh and General Fan (qi ye and
ba ye), and an intriguing “eight generals” number in
which performers which colorful theatrical masks painted
onto their faces move slowly, rhythmically, and powerfully
through moves that are at once both dance and martial
movement. This performance showed American viewers the
role that the eight generals play at temple fairs in Taiwan,
where they are summoned forth to drive away evil and protect
the deities.
Another innovation on a traditional theme is Cheng's “A
Night Tour of the Dragon Palace,” in which dancers wearing
black clothes with orange-fluorescent paint swoop down
onto a stage illuminated by black light. To the audience,
it appears as though a huge dragon is flying through the
air.
Cheng's dozen or so troupe members are all graduates of
Hsinpu Junior High School in the Taipei suburb of Panchiao.
Their average age is 21, and all have been through rigorous
training. Every single one is a big fan of the lion dance,
which is why they all opted to come back to Cheng's troupe
after they completed their military service. Hung Sheng's
fame in recent years has kept invitations rolling in for
all sorts of appearances throughout Taiwan. Because the
performances are very up-tempo, Hung Sheng is often asked
to be part of the opening ceremonies at various events.
Temple fairs are about more than just religion. They are
also magnets for the arts and commerce alike, attracting
performance troupes and hordes of vendors from near and
far. To give overseas audiences a complete feel for what
a temple fair is all about, Cheng complemented the performances
with the sorts of stalls you find at a temple fair here,
selling arts and craft item, including Aboriginal weaving,
paper cutting, rush mats, traditional candies, and the
like.
Cheng's creative new ideas have propelled the lion dance
beyond the temple fair and onto the international stage.
Hung Sheng's appearances include: dozens of events around
Taiwan as part of “An Evening of Chinese Folk Art” (organized
by the Council for Cultural Affairs); the National Festival
of Culture and Arts; the 1996 Taipei International Percussion
Convention; the 1998 Children's Art Festival in the International
Community of Hsinkang Township, Chiayi; the 1998 Nanying
International Folk Art Festival; the Asia-Pacific Drum
Festival; etc. In addition to these domestic events, Hung
Sheng has also traveled overseas to perform in Japan,
Germany, and many places in the United States.
Thanks to the creative vigor of the Hung Sheng Lion Dance
Theater, a drowsy lion has awoken, and is roaring its
assurance that a traditional folk art that seemed like
it might be on the way out, is in fact here to stay.
|
