This year I managed to get everyone up and out the door for the Chinese New Year Festival in Chinatown. The Kwan Family was performing again. They started in a restaurant, then moved out to a staged area, then went through each shop--which had to be exhausting! It's really strenuous work, I would imagine especially for the person who is performing as the back legs, since they have to stay bent over. The dancers are very strategic at changing places though, giving each other a rest.
Waiting for the dancers.
Starting with firecrackers--which were really loud!
Giving a money envelope to the baby dragon--the kids are learning the dance so they can carry on the tradition.
It was so crowded I couldn't move around to get good pictures, most came out blurry.
This is a video I found online of the same family performing last May at the Cleveland Asian Festival. It's kind of hard to see what the lion is doing, but there was a display of lettuce and oranges, he's throwing the oranges into the crown. Then he leaves the stage and at about the 2:25 mark, he drops an orange in Ivy's lap. You can just see her down in the corner. She was so surprised! I found the video at Clevelandpeople.com, where you can see other photos and videos of the Lion Dance at the festival. You can also see another picture of Ivy there, she's the girl giving a tangerine to the lion.
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