The Lion Dance has been part of the Chinese culture for thousands of years and is performed during the New Year Celebration to bring prosperity and good luck to local businesses for the upcoming year. Each lion is made up of two highly trained martial artists, wearing an elaborate and colorful costume. The dance is based on traditional Kung Fu footwork, kicks and stances, and the movements of the performers simulate the movements of a real lion. The “blessing” of the lion occurs during the dramatic climax of the dance, the “Chio Cheng” or “picking of the green”. The green refers to vegetable leaves that are tied to a piece of string which the lion “eats and chews”, while the musicians play a rolling crescendo. The lull is broken as the lion spits out the leaves in a symbolic act of abundance of everything in the coming year. Saturday’s snowy setting was the perfect backdrop for the dance of the two large, brightly colored “lion’s”, expertly performed by students of the Tak Wah Kung Fu Club. They were followed by the two new “baby lions”, manned by young students of Georgetown Martial Arts Center.
Many local businesses participated in the blessing of the Lion Dance, by “feeding” the lions a head of lettuce and a traditional Chinese red envelope containing a gift for the performers. Among those who supported the festivities were Curves for Women, Daniel P. Conlon Architects, Lola Tralala, Georgetown Automotive, Rancho Allegre, Auburn Landing, Georgetown Package Store, Lifetime Floors, Georgetown Village Restoration, The Village Chef, Millenium School of Irish Dance, The Georgetown Saloon, Paint, Draw and More, Murren-Kane, The Wilton Chamber of Commerce, and others.
On Saturday, February 8th, Georgetown Martial Arts Center hosted the First Annual Georgetown Chinese New Year Celebration, in their parking lot at 12 Old Mill Road. Area residents and merchants gathered to enjoy the lively and colorful outdoor festivities, which took place between 1:00 and 3:00 pm. The event began with an opening ceremony led by Grandmaster Tak Wah Eng of New York’s Chinatown. Grandmaster Tak instructed Bill Hackett and Ennis Warren, owners of Georgetown Martial Arts Center, in the “red ink blessing” of two new Chinese Lion costumes. The costumes were a gift to the Center from the New York based Tak Wah Kung Fu Club. After the lion heads were marked with red ink for good luck, the Grandmaster shouted, “Happy year of the Ram!” to a crowd of approximately 250 onlookers. At that, the traditional musical ensemble of a large Chinese drum played with two wooden mallets, a gong and cymbals,
After the spectacle of the Lion Dance, the crowd was treated to a wide variety of martial arts demonstrations, performed by nine different schools from Connecticut and New York. The Georgetown Martial Arts Center kicked off the demonstrations with their team performing karate and kung fu forms, to the rhythms of the Chinese Lion Dance ensemble. This team of performers ages five and up, wore colorful traditional Chinese kung fu uniforms, despite near freezing temperatures. The Tak Wah Kung Fu Club followed, amazing spectators with the grace and power of their group and solo presentations. Next, the students of five different Academy of Kempo schools from Hamden, Trumbull, Milford, Stratford and Branford expertly demonstrated basic karate exercises, self-defense techniques and board breaking. The final two schools, the Shaolin Kempo Academy of East Haven and the Martial Arts Training Center of Cheshire impressed the crowd with traditional weapon forms and martial arts themed skits, demonstrating physical strength and acrobatic skills. Georgetown Martial Arts Center plans to host the event again next year with an expanded Lion Dance parade and street performances on Main Street in Georgetown.
began the music of the ancient Chinese Lion Dance.
