(Eastern music)
- Hi, I'm Ms. Penny, and these are the KidVision Kids,
and we're here today to find out about
the Chinese New Year.
- Great, you guys are in the right place.
I'm Sifu Joe, and this is some of my team
of lion dance and kung fu performers.
I have with me Christopher.
- Hi.
- Logan.
- Hello.
- And Tristan.
- Hello.
- Yeah, so we've been pretty busy getting ready
for Chinese New Year.
I don't know if you guys know,
but the Chinese New Year doesn't follow the same calendar
that ours follows.
It follows the lunar calendar.
So the full moon, the cycle of the moon.
- [Penny Voiceover] China is a large country in Asia.
The Chinese New Year is the most important celebration.
The Chinese New Year follows the cycle of the moon,
so it starts on a different day each year.
There are 12 animals in the Chinese calendar.
Each year symbolizes a different animal.
Dog. (dog barks)
Pig. (pig oinks)
Rat. (rat squeaks)
Ox. (ox moos)
Tiger. (tiger roars)
Rabbit. (rabbit chirps)
Dragon. (dragon roars)
Snake. (snake hisses)
Horse. (horse neighs)
Goat. (goat bleats)
Monkey. (monkey hoots)
And in 2017, we celebrate the year of the rooster.
(rooster crows)
Why do they do the lion dance?
What's the purpose of it?
- Well, it's really to bring good luck.
Bring good luck, and scare away any evil spirits, you know.
They say that thousands of years ago,
a village was terrorized by some really evil type of lions,
and they tried to get rid of them, and they couldn't.
So the only way they could do it
is by dressing up like lions and using loud music
and fire crackers to scare them away.
Lion dancing is traditionally practiced and performed by
people who practice the art of kung fu,
which is a Chinese martial art.
The reason why is the lion dancing requires
very strong performers.
Have to have really good strong legs, strong movements.
Alright, so Penny, are you and the kids
ready to learn some lion dancing?
- Yes, we are.
- Awesome, awesome.
Alright, guys, so before we do the lion dance,
we're gonna work on some stances
to really build up our legs, okay?
Kung fu, we have to start with the basics.
Put your hands on your waist.
Okay, take a step open with both feet.
Have your toes parallel to each other.
Bend the knees so that your knees are over your feet
and your butt tucked in.
Everybody, repeat after me,
(speaking foreign language)
- [Everybody] (speaking foreign language)
- This is the square horse stance.
Now, straighten out the right leg.
Keep the left knee bent, feet flat.
Repeat after me, (speaking foreign language)
- [Everybody] (speaking foreign language)
- The bow and arrow stance.
Okay, let's go back to horse, and then all the way
to the right side.
Say (speaking foreign language)!
- [Everybody] (speaking foreign language)
- Good, that's the bow and arrow stance.
Excellent.
So now, take your right foot, go behind the left.
Bend the knee, touching the outside of your leg,
say (speaking foreign language)!
- [Everbody] (speaking foreign language)
- That's twist stance.
Very good, step, the left foot behind.
Say (speaking foreign language)
- [Everybody] (speaking foreign language)
- Very good.
Now we're gonna see those stances in the dance routine,
okay, so let's start.
You can grab your bags.
Put your right foot forward, in bow and arrow stance.
We're gonna hold the head up in front of the forehead,
you don't wanna go too high.
Alright, this first move is called see everything,
where the lion looks around.
So shake the head to the left.
Shake the head to the right.
Back to the left, very good.
Now everybody, horse stance.
Now we're gonna do the walking, okay.
Bow stance to the left, pull the head down.
Bow stance to the right, and step, pull the head down.
Each time we step we make it very strong,
very powerful.
And step.
Now we'll step backwards, step back with the right foot.
Step back, good.
Step back, alright.
And we've got one more step that we're gonna do today.
So let's do horse stance, this is the happy.
So from here, horse, feet together.
Horse. Feet together.
One more time.
Horse. Feet together,
we lift the head up high, okay.
Right foot goes forward.
We smell to the right.
Smell to the left.
Smell to the center.
The head comes down, right foot steps over the left
doing a twist dance,
look to the front.
And then step back, and pull the head down.
Very good, everybody.
So let's try that with music.
(drum music)
Good, now horse stance, here we go for the walking.
(drum music)
Good, now horse stance, let's do the happy dance.
(drum music)
Awesome, everybody, good job.
(everybody clapping)
This is the time you guys all been waiting for.
The actual lion.
So you guys already know it has eyes,
has ears, has its horn.
But what we don't see is the stuff on the inside,
and if you guys take a look inside here,
we have all these inner workings
that are really tied together.
They look like little bamboo shoots, you see it?
And if you look deep in there,
there's little pulley systems.
That way we have some rope tied together here.
What we can do while we're inside is...
(costume bangs)
Pull, and look what happens.
(costume bangs)
- The eyes and ears?
- Yeah, the eyes and ears move.
So this all helps the lion look real.
Like a real lion.
So you guys all want to try?
- Yeah!
- [Sifu Joe] Awesome.
(Eastern music)
Let's do horse stance.
Let's look left, blink the eyes.
Blink blink blink, pull the rope.
Good, really hard, good.
Look to the right.
Blink the eyes.
Blink blink blink, very good.
Alright, horse stance, open the mouth.
Alright, let's put the feet together, lift the head up,
and close the mouth.
Yeah, down.
Open the mouth.
And up.
Close the mouth.
Very good, one more time, down.
Up, close the mouth.
Good, horse stance.
Blink the eyes, look left.
Good, blink the eyes, look right.
Very good, good job.
You guys are ready to join the team.
- [Penny Voiceover] Before the lions do their performance,
the animal must be blessed by an eye dotting ceremony.
This is done to awaken the spirit of the lion,
and give it life.
(drum music)
The lions bow respectfully to the alter
before they begin their dance.
The happy Buddha helps guide the lions during their dance.
The red envelopes are symbols of good luck,
and have money inside.
We feed the lions for good fortune.
(crowd applauding)
- (speaking foreign language)
- [Everybody] (speaking foreign language)
- (speaking foreign language)
- [Everbody] (speaking foreign language)
- Alright, everybody clap, good job.
(everybody clapping)
Happy new year.
(Eastern music)