All posts tagged "lion dance"
Did a short gig for a local preschool today. We kept the power dialed all the way down so as not to upset the little ones and it went really well. The kids were definitely into it, which makes it more fun. Also did a workshop with the baby lion heads afterwards.
Another corporate event, another cramped space. We really had to modify the routine once we saw the space but we made it work. Not our finest performance, but at least we’re done for the season. Time to start working out again in earnest. For chrissake.
Chinatown. The big day. About 8 uninterrupted hours of parading and going into every store in Chinatown. We had lots of people today so there was lots of relief and it went smoothly compared to previous years. It was also a lovely, warm 53 degrees, which makes the whole day more enjoyable.
We did a quick lion dance routine and kung fu show for a corporate event in Midtown today. The space had really low ceilings and was pretty small, so we had to abbreviate the routine and cut out all the fun stuff. Afterwards I got my ass kicked in a choreographed fight set. I’m taking today as an active rest day.
Long, exhausting day today. Spent the entire morning and afternoon in 8th Ave in Brooklyn, going into every single store in Chinatown. Since it was only about 20 degrees, sweat was only a factor when we spent a half hour in a huge restaurant going to every single table.
Tonight we drove to Westport, CT for a private lion dance gig. Lots of hard work and lots of sweat this time. It was especially tough because I was already beat from a full day.
Ran the final foundations class of the month today and really worked the guys. Also worked the second class pretty hard and got a good sweat going. After all that we worked on the kung fu demo for next week and practiced for the upcoming lion dance gig.
I had to do my strength session right before class today. Luckily, it was a low-key night at the school. We mainly worked on preparing for upcoming gigs tonight. Some lion dance practice and worked out a fight set that we have to do for a kung fu demo.
Warmed up with some lion dance practice because ‘tis the season! After running through things a few times, worked on the tower with Frank. He’s light as a mosquito, so it’s really just a matter of building up his confidence so he can climb up for the shoulder stand. After that, worked on the first section of Tiet Sien Kuen with the guys - reviewing what we learned in last week’s seminar with Sigung.
Ran through a No Excuses style warmup for a change of pace. Obviously lower intensity than if I was working out myself:
Repeat circuit 4x, starting with 60 second rounds and cutting the time spent on each exercise by 15 seconds each time through (60 sec, 45 sec, 30 sec, 15 sec). I was chuffed to average over 1 DU/sec for each round here. This one stoked the furnace nicely.
Then we ran through other basic warmup stuff with stances and three star and went into the bik kiu bow stance drill. After that, reviewed the chop choy and then broke it down into its two components. Had one group working the circular block with the big rings, one group working on delivering the power with the punch on the heavy bag.
After class, lots of lion dance practice.
Mostly worked on the lion dance for the wedding this Saturday. I snuck in some practice on Ng Ying Kuen when I could.
Beginners warmup, followed by beginners forms. After the beginners begone, we did some lion dance preparation to get ready for Sihing Alex’s wedding this weekend.
Used the GPP session and a jog to the school as a warmup, then did a forearm/hand training circuit:
Repeat 3x.
Then I did some broadsword practice - 100 full big cuts (closing and opening) and ran through Hang Yuet Darn Dao several times. After class, lion dance practice in preparation for Sihing Al’s wedding!
The big day - lion dancing all day in Chinatown. I shared my time between music and lion head. My ears are still ringing and my shoulders are feeling it, but too not worn down otherwise. This was our last performance, so now I can get back to concentrating on my kung fu training.
Second show at LIU Brooklyn. Everything went well again and there were more asses in the seats. Lots of kids in the crowd too and they really enjoyed getting up close to the lion after the performance.
After warmup, went into forearm/hand training:
Then some lion dance practice to finalize details for today’s performance.
