Lion Dancing

Yesterday I watched a lion dance near a hawker center. The lion galloped and leapt around on a mat while the drummers drummed and clanged noisily. The troupe was from Ngee Ann Polytechnic where my father works. The lion "ate" a few oranges that had been placed on the ground and a plate of lettuce, then settled down to rest as the dancers inside were peeling and shredding the oranges and lettuce. Then, occasionally it would spit out a few peels and shredded lettuce, and when it finally got up, there was a scroll below it. The scroll was then presented to the boss of the hawker center. The lion then "spat" out five different coloured stacks of powder (probably rice or beans or whatever) representing " wu hu feng shou" and spat out five golden ingots , all of the above mentioned done on a gold cloth. The boss of the hawker center then tied up the cloth with gold string and members of the troupe fired streamers into the air, and a few people snapped photos.

But have you noticed this: The dance consists of two people in a costume. Do you know that the person playing the rear of the lion has to keep his back bent throughout the dance? There are just some people that we don't bother to appreciate, don't notice, or just don't care about.