The Overseas Chinese Education Center in the Golden Mountain Bay Area is hosting a series of training activities to promote and preserve Taiwan’s temple festival culture. On June 1st (last Saturday), they launched a Lion Dance Culture class to allow more people to learn this traditional art form.
The “2024 Overseas Folk Culture Seed Teacher Local Training” program, themed around Taiwan’s temple festival culture, consists of 5 courses including Lion Dance, Glove Puppetry, Offerings to Deities, Taiwanese Opera, and Puppetry. Nearly 30 students who are passionate about promoting folk culture participated in this training.
Director Zhuang Yashu of the Overseas Chinese Education Center stated that the Overseas Community Affairs Council continues to hold seed teacher training courses on folk culture abroad to promote Taiwanese culture. This year’s theme is “Taiwanese Temple Festival Culture”, which is not only an important part of everyday life but also a symbol of community cohesion. Teachers are encouraged to join the folk seed teacher team to collectively promote Taiwanese culture.
The Lion Dance Culture class on that day was led by instructors Wen Shuling and Ye Yunhe. They not only explained the origin, development, characteristics, performance forms, and techniques of Taiwanese lion dance but also taught students how to make paper lion heads by hand, demonstrated lion dance steps, movements, and the skills of drumming, gonging, and cymbal playing.
Wen Shuling pointed out that the appearance of Taiwan’s lion dance is more heroic and majestic compared to mainland China’s lion dance. Its features include the Bagua pattern on the head, the character “王” on the forehead, and a ribbon tied around the forehead. Taiwan’s lion dance is usually performed during temple festivals and is often used in rituals to honor gods.
During the class, Ye Yunhe taught various lion dance steps and movements such as the Seven Stars Step, paying respects to gods, scratching fleas, sleeping, playing, receiving red envelopes, and presenting congratulatory words. Wen Shuling instructed the techniques of drumming, gonging, and cymbal playing, with a detailed explanation of different rhythm techniques including single beat, horse hoof beat, main rhythm, sub-rhythm, and playing patterns. Students followed the teachers’ guidance in class, sometimes leaping and tumbling, sometimes swinging drumsticks, despite being covered in sweat and experiencing sore arms, they all expressed that they gained a fruitful experience.
Other courses on Taiwan’s temple festival culture, including Glove Puppetry, Offerings to Deities, Taiwanese Opera, and Puppetry, will be held on June 30th, September 8th, September 29th, and October 27th respectively at the cultural and educational center. ◇