The lion leaps from pole to pole, its eyes blinking as if alive. Beneath the costume are young athletes, drenched in sweat, jumping in unison.
Watching it all unfold is their head coach Keung Wai-hong. He is keeping the traditional martial art and dance alive in Hong Kong through Keung’s Dragon & Lion Dance Team.
“I think I heard drumbeats when I was still in my mother’s womb,” the 52-year-old said, laughing.
Keung’s father was a lion dance athlete who trained under grandmaster Chow Hon-hing.
“As kids, after dinner, we would go up to the rooftop with my dad,” Keung said, recalling following his father with his brothers to the lion dance practice space.
Reviving a fading art
In the mid 90s, Keung’s group was falling apart. They had lost their rooftop training space when the ageing tong lau tenement building was demolished. Older team members had also retired.
“It felt like something precious was ending,” Keung said.
He and his brothers had little money, no proper training space and barely any equipment.
“We didn’t even have enough to buy a lion,” he said.
Still, they attempted to revive the lion dance team.
In 2013, after years of performing at major festivals and international events, the Keung’s Dragon & Lion Dance Team was officially established.
New lion cubs
The Keung brothers want to pass their skills on to the next generation. They hope the young athletes will “Go with tradition. Break with tradition”.
Keung’s son, Jay Keung Fung, said, “When I was little, my father would have me practise the drum … and train in the musical aspect of lion dance. In recent years, I started taking [the] part [of] the lion head.”
The 20-year-old committed to being a full-time lion dance athlete last year. He said the sport had taught him about Chinese history as well as the power of storytelling.
“Each … routine has a story,” he said. “You have to be fully immersed in the role. Your movements need to convey that story.”
In addition to the acrobatic dancers, the team includes drummers who set the beat.
“The best thing is when you play some more fancy, skilful drumming beats and at the same time synchronise with the lion’s movements,” said John Siu Man-hin, a 23-year-old drummer for Keung’s team. “When there are many great drumming beats that complement the whole piece, [a] sense of confidence or joy rises up.”
Siu has been on the team for five years now. He first took part in lion dance through an extracurricular class.
“I thought I would quit after a year,” he said. “[But] … I realised it was actually quite fun.”
Life lessons
Both younger athletes, Keung and Siu, said they had learned more than just sport from lion dance.
“No matter how good your physical fitness is … if you don’t actually enjoy doing it, if you don’t have the heart to stay here, then it’s meaningless,” Siu said.
The sport also gave son and father a way to bond.
Last year, the night before a final competition, the younger Keung was struggling with the routine. His father offered him the chance to withdraw, but the son refused.
Later, the older Keung revealed that he had wanted his son to compete all along.
The son realised his father’s message: “Don’t be afraid of losing to other teams … as long as you are willing to go for it.”
As a golden lion leapt across the poles, the coach watched quietly. His son wore the costumed head.
“Persevere. Enjoy,” the older Keung said, referencing his and his brother’s life motto. “From my early days as an athlete all the way until now, I have always held on to these two words.”
