注意，前方高能！在万江这群“后生仔”手里，醒狮有着一万种有趣的打开方式！
How stylishly can traditional lion dancing be?
Li Weijie, a young man from Wanjiang, has been particularly fascinated by lion dancing since he was a child. The mighty and incredible lions, the golden Kylins and the decorated floats are Li Weijie’s childhood memories. After completing his studies, 20-year-old Li Weijie decided to do what he loved.
After the Chinese New Year in 2016, “Lian Sheng Tang” was born. The lion dance troupe, initially formed by three Wanjiang teenagers on their own initiative, has 72 members now. This group of young people trained everyday before they finally learned complex movements, including step on high piles, choi tsing and even tightrope walking.
“
I don't want to be too traditional. Only innovation can take me further.
These young people have many ways to reinvigorate lion dancing. The team uniforms and car stickers with the eye-catching Lian Sheng Tang logo are seriously cool.
They also use the color scheme of Coke and beer as inspiration to create the lions’ heads with strong visual impact and call the lions’ heads the name of the drink to resonate with young people, thus making the lion dancing steal the show!
Lian Sheng Tang has collaborated with several brands and recorded eye-catching films. They not only walked a tightrope on the Knife Back Mountain in Chongqing but also steped on high piles along the treacherous road. They told stories with the essence of the young generation.
Moreover, they launched various cultural and creative products with lion dancing elements.
In terms of performance, the members of Lian Sheng Tang boldly use music, stage design, lighting and costumes to innovate, combining lion dancing with music, electronic music and hip-pop. They have performed in over 30 nightclubs nationwide and once took the lion to Dongguan nightclub. During the performance, they replaced the drums with electronic music and walked a tightrope in the pile formation with excellent animated lighting. These young men have also appeared on Hunan TV’s live stream to show the charm of lion dancing in the form of “lion dancing + dance + rap”.
The lion dance youngsters of Lian Sheng Tang dare to face difficulties and innovate. They have changed people’s perception of teenage lion dancers with exquisite skills and refreshing performances. To these young people, the lion dancing not only signifies good fortune and a symbol of masculinity, courage and strength. Successful lion dancing is endowed with human thoughts and spirituality, showing a vigorous vitality. “Not to lose the tradition, more than the tradition” is their original intention and goal of unremitting struggle!
Edited by Ashley & Yvonne
Posted by Yvonne
Proofread by Stephen