Original Title: Playing Dragon and Lion Dance to Celebrate the Grand Festival
Lively dragon and lion dance activities
The “Longhua Fair” on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar is an annual traditional festival in Yao’an. Every year on this day, folks have the custom of playing dragon and lion dance, praying for good weather, abundant grains, auspiciousness and peace in the coming year. In order to increase the festive atmosphere of this year’s Dragon Fair, the Yao’an County Party Committee and the county government carefully organized, and the County Culture and Tourism Bureau undertook the dragon and lion dance performance.
On February 27, tens of thousands of people gathered in Guanglu Ancient Town. In Fulu Square, 12 dragons of various colors including blue, red, yellow, white and black are dancing at the same time, jumping, rolling, coiling, or interspersed with the hydrangea, constantly showing twisting, swinging, leaning, kneeling, jumping, Shake and other postures. The dragon-playing team also went through the streets and alleys of the ancient town for parade performances. Along the way, gongs and drums blared, firecrackers blared, and the majestic long dragon sometimes soared, jumped, and sometimes circled and walked under the dance of skilled actors. It was lifelike, attracting onlookers There were bursts of applause and cheers.
Looking at the lion dance scene again, 8 vigorous, powerful, mighty “golden lions”, “red lions” and “colorful lions” sometimes stand, sometimes jump, sometimes toss and turn, sometimes roll and fall, sometimes climb high and look into the distance, full of energy, and sometimes funny The worship is cute and cute, especially the difficult poses such as spitting couplets, grabbing dragon balls, and jumping plum blossom piles, supplemented by movements such as scratching, shaking, and licking. time.
The dragon and lion dance team was specially invited from Yimen, Kunming and other places to participate in the performance. This traditional cultural activity not only adds a festive atmosphere to the festival, but also fully demonstrates the artistic charm of folk culture, promotes the exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups, promotes the construction of rural customs and civilization, enriches the cultural life of the masses, and contributes to the folk culture of Yao’an County in 2023. The work of protection, inheritance and development has created a new situation. (Chen Yanzhi, Li Huafei)