Learning Hark Fu Mun Lion Dance

 
Charlotte Burkinshaw, Bev Coulson, Callum Burkinshaw, Cameron Burkinshaw, Alan Low, Aaron Tarling

In April 2013, Alan Low, one of the Hark Fu instructors from Hong Kong, visited our academy in Bedworth for a few days to train with us. As well as teaching various forms and drills, Alan and I spent a lot of time focussing on the lion dance. This was a great opportunity as we only had some knowledge of Shaolin lion dance, and were lacking in the black tiger aspect. We spent most of the time working on the front and back of the lion, and also the drum beats that correspond to each section of the dance.

The sections that we covered were the intro outside of the lion, salutes, basic steps, high lion/figure of 8, searching for food, approaching the green (cheng), and the finishing moves.

 
Alan Low demonstrating the lion head movements to Callum, Cameron & Aaron

Compared with the routine we already knew, these new moves were a lot more lively and realistic making the dance as a whole look very impressive. It had a lot more energy, speed, and power creating an intimidating presence from the lion. The new basic steps that I was introduced to reflected this, and was a challenge to learn at full pace. There were also a few acrobatic moves that required perfect timing and cooperation from the front and back of the lion such as a performing barrel roll during the search for food. This was also difficult at first but became less so the more we practiced.

 
practising the head movements

Learning the new drum beats also proved to be a challenge as some were faster than the ones we were used to. The reason for this was that it fit in with the ferocity that was shown by the lion, again creating an energetic atmosphere. Whilst learning these beats, it became apparent that most of them were repeated for different sections; so once I learnt one beat the rest were easier to pick up. There were also some more simple beats for the salutes and the search for food, which gradually built up to the faster beats as the dance progressed.

 
Alan Low showing Charlotte the new drum beats

Alan Low teaching Aaron the new drum beats

Thanks to the decades of experience Alan Low has, and his great ability to teach by breaking down the moves in the dance and the beats, we now have a high quality routine that we can put together and combine with our previous dance. This has enabled us to improve our lion dance syllabus, by staying true to our roots of both the shaolin and black tiger elements of our style. We now have a lot that we can practice, develop, and hopefully pass on to others in the future to keep this part of our style alive.

On Monday, Alan Low & Aaron went over the Lion & drum from Sunday.

Alan also taught Aaron more movements for him to pass onto the troupe.

I hope that our club can continue to develop by maintaining a strong connection with the students and instructors in Hong Kong, and be able to move forward and benefit from this for years to come.

By Aaron Tarling