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Dragon Dance
(03)
...In the Qing Dynasty, the
Dragon Dance team of the province of Foochow had been invited to
perform in Peking and had been greatly praised and admired by the
Ching Emperor, which earned great fame for the team.
Performance
:  The dragon dance is
performed by a skilled team whose job is to bring the motionless body
to life. The dragon itself is a long serpent shaped body on poles,
assembled by joining the series of hoops on each section and attaching
the ornamental head and tail pieces at the ends. Traditionally,
dragons were constructed of wood, with bamboo hoops on the inside and
covered with a rich fabric, however in the modern era lighter
materials such as aluminum and plastics have replaced the wood and
heavy material.
Dragons can range in length
from around 25 to 35 meters for the more acrobatic models, and up to
50 to 70 meters for the largest, parade and ceremonial styles, since
part of the myth of the dragon is that the longer the creature, the
more luck it will bring. The size and length of a dragon depend on the
human power available, financial power, materials, skills and size of
the field. Its length typically ranges from 9 sections to 15 sections
long, though some dragons are as long as 46 sections.
A small organization cannot
afford to run a very long dragon because it consumes great human
power, great expenses and special skills which are difficult to
manage. The normal length and size of the body recommended for the
dragon is 112 feet (34 meters) and is divided into 9 major sections.
The distance of each minor (rib-like) section is 14 inches apart;
therefore, the body has 81 rings. History tells us that the dragon
dance is performed in various ways, types and colors. Green is
sometimes selected as a main color of the dragon, which symbolizes a
great harvest. Other colors include: yellow symbolizing the solemn
empire, golden or silver colors symbolizing prosperity, red color
representing excitement while its scales and tail are mostly beautiful
silver colors and glittering at all times which provides a feeling of
joyous atmosphere. As the Dragon dance is not performed every day, the
cloth of the dragon is to be removed and to have a new touch of
ultra-paint before the next performance.
The correct combination and
proper timing of the different parts of the dragon are very important
to make a successful dance. Any mistakes made by even some of the
performers would spoil the whole performance. To be very successful in
the dance, the head of the Dragon must be able to co-operate with the
body in combination with the timing of the drum. For larger ceremonial
and parade style dragons, the head can weigh as much as 12 katis (14.4
kg, almost 32 lb). The dragon tail also has an important role to play
as it will have to keep in time with head movements. The fifth section
is considered to be the middle portion and the performers must be very
alert as the body movements change from time to time...
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