In recent years, Asian cultural
arts have been performed to great acclaim internationally,
and Taiwan’s cultural arts have also enjoyed a growing
reputation. However, the traditional Temple culture arts
of Taiwan’s people – and their abundant and deep artistic
content – are seen comparatively rarely on the world
stage.
During this tour, our group will combine some of the most
refined works of our past temple festival repertoire,
including traditional folk art dances such as the Dragon
Dance and the intricate Dance of Eight Generals. This
combination further refines what was originally simply
temple festival tradition of the “Waking Lion,” giving the
performance still greater style and uniqueness. Taking the
“Waking Lion Gong and Drum Dance” as its focal point, and
aided by the extravagant ostentation of religion, the
program reveals a new face to Taiwan’s temple arts,
allowing viewers to enter the realm of the folk temple
festival and see its liveliness and vibrancy.
Revealing the Refined Performance Culture of the Temple
Festival
In order to convey the artistic
culture of Taiwan temple festivals, this performance will
use traditional religious ceremonial form and will take
place amidst the sound of gongs and drums ,.
The prelude to the performance will involve
black flags, horns, and gongs, and then the gods General
Hsieh and General Fan (Qi Ye and Ba Ye), who
represent the avoidance of evil spirits and bring
felicity, as well as the Three Princes, the Generals and
other gods, will circle round, bringing good luck. The
purpose of this part of the performance is twofold: one,
to proclaim that a fine play is about to take place, and
two, to attract an audience and gather them together.
Hung-Sheng’s special act, “Glowing Night Dragon,”
immediately follows the prelude, bringing on the first
climax of the program with its glowing Dragon God. In an
evening venue, the glitteringly luminous dragons and
Pearls tumble through the air, piling like clouds
seemingly about to fall into the audience below. The
dancing dragons convey the message of good fortune and
wealth to the people of the world.
And then, another vibrant performance comes
from the rhythms of the gong and the drum. Hung-Sheng is
the first group in Taiwan to perform the “Drum Dance” from
the “Waking Lion Gong and Drum Dance” alone, creating a
new method performance in which the beat of the large
drums are coordinated with that of the gong. Because the
drummers have all undergone the most rigorous martial arts
training, their bodies and hands are exceptionally strong.
During the performance they coordinate the gong with kung
fu moves, revealing the vibrant bonds of sound, strength,
and beauty.
Finally, the Lucky Lion, as an auspicious
totem, brings the last but best part of the program. This
part is a favorite because of the Waking Lion’s use of a
variety of expressions and emotions. Through its movements
and expressions during the performance, the lion captures
the surprise, curiosity, happiness, and fear of all
creatures. Its extremely life-like appearance will
surprise and delight the audience. During the performance
of “Grab the Green” on plum branches high above, the
Waking Lion must leap high over layers of obstacles before
he can succeed in “getting the green.” This performance
not only tests the depth of the martial arts training of
the dancing lion, but also requires lively, quick
responses. Its special, outstanding moves are perilous and
after alternating bouts of cold sweat and relief, the
audience never fails to break into cheers at the exciting
conclusion.
Strong and stern gods and generals on tours of inspection,
ever-changing dragon gods, intensely powerful drumming
contests, and the lively, leaping Lucky Lion all come
together in a performance with a plethora of highlights
that is also a brilliant combination of the art of both
traditional and contemporary Taiwan temple festival
culture.
Back to
Hung-Sheng Lion Dance Theater
North American Tour
