More women joining traditionally male-dominated lion dance
Vancouver coach says she has seen a 70 per cent increase in women joining her lion dance team
A bright yellow lion leaps to life, its eyes blinking, mouth opening, and head bobbing to a pounding drum and clashing symbols.
Underneath the lively costume, 12-year-old Teagan Lee is dancing with grit.
"It feels really exciting to just be in the heat of the moment," she said during practice with the Vancouver Chinese Lion & Dragon Dance Team in Richmond, B.C.
Lee is among a growing number of women and young girls learning lion dance.
The traditional dance in Chinese culture is typically performed during festive occasions, such as Lunar New Year, to symbolize prosperous times and chase away evil spirits, explains Lee's coach, Eugenia Chau.
For centuries, it was rare to see young girls and women perform lion dance.
Experts say the art has been male-dominated for different reasons, including martial arts skills requiring lots of stamina, strength and precision.
But some women taking part in the dance say it helps them connect to their culture, feel empowered, encourage other women to embrace the ancient art, and challenge stereotypes.
Chau says she has noticed at least a 70 per cent increase in women joining her team in the last five years. Currently, 20 of 30 people on her team are women.
They learn both lion dancing — performed by two people, who move the head and tail of the lion — and dragon dancing, which involves at least nine dancers, says Chau.
"There's a lot more females wanting to do this as an exercise ... and learn the culture of the dance."
A male-dominated art
One of the reasons lion dance has been male-centric is how strenuous it is, says Chau.
The lion's head typically used to weigh around 10 to 12 pounds. Nowadays, it weighs about seven to eight pounds, made with lighter materials like paper mache instead of cloth.
It's hard to narrow down specific reasons, however, says Helena Wu, Canada Research Chair in Hong Kong Studies.
There were sayings and cultural myths that women couldn't participate in certain rituals and ceremonies or touch the lion's head, Wu says, and it was culturally taboo for women to lion dance.
"This shows us the bigotry that was present at that time," she said.
That's not to say some didn't challenge the stereotype over time, she adds.
At the Hon Hsing Athletic Club of Vancouver, there's a framed photo of an all-women's lion dance team dating back to the 1930s.
They began lion dancing in Vancouver in an effort to raise money for war relief efforts when Japan invaded China, says Jeffrey Wong, an amateur archivist and vice-president of the Wongs' Benevolent Association, which oversees the club.
"For them to actually lion dance and have it so successful was extremely rare, and it probably did not happen in Asia, and probably even very few here in North America," Wong said.
Their success led to the establishing of the club, where women and men could come and practice martial arts and lion dance — and still do today, says Wong.
Wu and Wong both say more women today are following in the footsteps of the rare female lion dancers from the past.
'It is out there for women to access'
Today, 12-year-old Lee says she's "never really paid attention to" being a female lion dancer. Rather, she's focused on building friendships.
Meanwhile, at the Chau Luen Athletic Club in Vancouver's Chinatown, Leanne Yu, 37 is practising late into the night. Since joining a year ago, Yu says lion dance has helped connect her to her heritage.
Growing up, Yu's father was a Kung Fu master, and she recalls watching lion dances with her family. It eventually inspired her to join a team with several female dancers.
"Having that representation just informed me that it is out there for women to access, and it's not inherently any sort of gender activity or sport," she said.
Her dance partner, 30-year-old Tesicca Truong, also joined last year and says it is empowering to use their strength to lift, leap and kick with the lion's head, and challenge misperceptions of women lion dancing.
"I think all it takes is training and dedication and practice," Truong said, as she and Yu prepared for their first Lunar New Year performance.
The dancers say they hope to see more women lion dancing
"It's a really empowering message," said Truong, "but also I think one that's been different in the past."
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