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Practice Drill Face-Offs and Clean-Up

lion dance drills

two, three, and four 1-minute face-offs

This week’s work-out was brought to you by sprints, burpees, ab crushers, face-offs, and…den clean-up!

My quads are still sore from last night’s warm-up and face-off drills. We did all this while also Clorox-ing the heck out of our music room which houses all the drums, cymbals, benches, and other gear. The clean-up was only part two of the effort as our dragon dance teammates worked on the other half of the space the other week.

It was definitely a team effort.

After a pretty intense warm-up of cardio, sprints and a whole lot of abs, we started moving all the stuff from the music room out. And while we were waiting for the Clorox to dry out, we got some lion heads and went on to do some drills for a minute, facing-off from two lions which then somehow increased to three and then four.

Toward the end, we threw in some jump and lift training.

Before we knew it, time was up. We bowed out together to end practice and then, of course, some of us went for some much-needed chow.

Great night all-in-all :)

The Art of Lion Dance with Master Siow Ho Phiew

DOCUMENTARY – LION ART from The Bratwurst Company on Vimeo.

A short documentary about local Lion Dance Master of Malaysia, Master Siow Ho Phiew as he talks about his story of lion dancing and lion head productions.

directed by:
Nicholas Chin
ShangShen Wong

Here’s a great look into the art of lion dance and what it means. The dedication and passion is inspiring.

Thanks to GK dragonette for sharing :)

Girl Power! Malaysia Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association

female members of the Malaysia Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association

female members of the Malaysia Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association

The ladies of the Malaysia Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association representing!

Females are beginning to take centre stage in the predominantly male-centric sport.

For 17-year-old Mariam Abdul Nazar, learning the intricacies of the lion dance has been an eye-opener, not only for her but her family as well.

The plucky teen, who has been taking lessons for the past three years with the Malaysia Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association in Sungai Way, said her experience so far has been a roller-coaster of emotions.

Read more about Mariam’s journey into lion dancing here. You go!

Kung Fu Federation Banquet

Gund Kwok at Kung Fu Federation Banquet in Boston, MA

GK lion and dragon members attending the Kung Fu Federation Banquet held at Hei La Moon Restaurant in Boston, MA

Gund Kwok at Kung Fu Federation Banquet

It was a night of martial arts and…FOOD!

Gund Kwok at Kung Fu Federation Banquet in Boston, MA

There was no food left — the ladies ate everything! Well done, well done :)

It was a great night filled with martial arts, food, and drinks — that’s about what makes for a fun GK night :)

Burpees and a Dash of Ab Crusher

Gund Kwok Lion Dancers Do Some Burpees

Let’s do some burpees, ladies!

It was time to switch up some of our lion dance warm-ups and so we worked in a ‘game’ of Burpees. Lying down, we had to push ourselves up and then hop up.

After some cardio and stretching, we moved into our usual ab workout. But this time, we added some ‘Ab Crushers.”

Everyone was definitely feeling the burn.

Can’t wait to try out some other new exercises next week :)

“Somewhere Between” Documentary

TRAILER: Somewhere Between – A Feature Documentary from Linda Knowlton on Vimeo.

My daughter’s name is Ruby. She is five. When my husband and I adopted her from China we had no idea what lay ahead. In an instant, we became a family. I began to think about Ruby’s future and started to wonder how her coming of age would differ from mine. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN tells intimate stories of what it is like to come-of-age as a trans-racial adoptee in today’s America, as examined through the POV of some of the 79,562 adopted girls from China. Through these girls we will explore identity, racism, and gender. Through the voices of these young women, we will see not just their lives, but our own, reflected back to us – whether we are adoptive families or not. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN will start a dialogue about what we see, who we are, and the changing face of the American family. This film is about the 79,562 girls growing up in America. Right now.

If you have Netflix, you should definitely check this one out. I’m not gonna lie. At one point, I did cry.

Very powerful and moving.

“They’re All So Beautiful” web series

They’re All So Beautiful” is a six-part Web series/forum focused specifically on the attraction that Asian women hold for Caucasian men, and director Debbie Lum interviews men in the throes of “yellow fever” — whether they like to admit to the term or not.

Read More

These webisodes are leading up to the documentary Seeking Asian Female, which premieres on PBS on May 6, 2013 at 10pm ET.

Dragon Dance Trial Classes in April!

Experience the art & power of dragon dance!

If you’re an Asian female, come join us for a trial class. It’s fun and FREE!

(Please bring work-out clothes and sneakers)

Wed, April 10, 2013
6:30PM-9PM
China Trade Center (across from the RMV)
2 Boylston St, Boston

Wed, April 17, 2013
6:30PM-9PM
China Trade Center (across from the RMV)
2 Boylston St, Boston

To register, please contact Kara at k_delahunt [at] hotmail.com or send us a message via our contact form noting which of the classes you’re interested in and how we can contact you:

Lion Dance and…Georgetown cupcakes!

Chinese Lion made out of cupcakes by Georgetown Cupcake

Source: tlc.howstuffworks.com via Addie on Pinterest

Chinese Lion made out of cupcakes by Georgetown Cupcake, “So You Think You Can Lion Dance” episode of DC Cupcakes.

Surfing around Netflix a few weeks back, I checked out a DC Cupcakes episode with lion dance in an episode title. Seriously?

So, of course, I had to check it out. It was pretty cool how it was constructed — they even added a fireworks type mechanism so that confetti would explode out of the mouth. Umm…that part was a little odd.

The sweet treat was commissioned for an Asian Pacific Heritage event.

Kudos to the — perhaps, very first? — lion dance cupcake!

A Blast from the Past: Kevin Spacey

Back in 2008, the movie 21 starring Kevin Spacey came out in movie theatres all over the country.

And guess who made the cut? We did :)

Check out some of the scenes that were shot in Boston’s Chinatown. It was a very long night.

Gund Kwok, on the set of 21 starring Kevin Spacey

Look at the Dragonettes, aka dragon dance ladies, whip that dragon!

 

Gund Kwok, on the set of 21 starring Kevin Spacey

Not sure how many times we had to run around, but it did get dark and they did have to break out the flood lights.

Gund Kwok, on the set of 21 starring Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey, the man himself, with our dragon being held by our Troupe founder/leader Cheng Imm Tan.

 

All in all, it was thrilling, fun, exciting, and tiring. We made the cut this time so if you ever watch the movie, you’ll see us for like 10 seconds :P

Lion Dance Warm-Up Re-Cap

We have some new teams preparing for upcoming performances and we need all the time we can get in order to practice, practice, and practice some more. But before we get down to business, we always go through a 1.5 hour warm-up — cardio, stretching, and ab exercises.

On this night, the featured exercise of the evening was the plank, aka ‘elbow plank.’

The Plank

 

According to FitSugar: This is a killer move for your core, legs, and upper body. When holding Elbow Plank, be sure your shoulders are stacked over your elbows and your body is in one straight line:

  • Start on the floor, resting on your forearms and knees
  • Step your feet out one at a time, coming into a plank position.
  • Contract your abs to prevent your booty from sticking up or sinking. Your spine should be parallel to the floor, with your abs pulling toward the ceiling.
  • Hold 30 seconds, and work your way up to one minute as you get stronger.

To learn more about this and other forms of the plank, visit FitSugar.

We were calling each other on form left and right. And so we did more than what we usually do. We should’ve had a plank-a-thon :)

Next time!

 

ASPIRE Asian American Women’s Scholarship Fund, 2013

ASPIRE's 2nd Annual Asian American Women's Scholarship Fund

ASPIRE invites Asian American young women in pursuit of higher education to apply for this year’s Asian American Women’s Scholarship Fund. With financial support from Gund Kwok Asian Women Lion & Dragon Dance Troupe, this scholarship will be awarded to two Asian American young women entering their first years in a two or four year accredited post-secondary institution in the amount of $1,000. These awardees should demonstrate strong leadership skills and the ability to make a meaningful impact in the Asian American community.