Tuesday, October 29, 2019

A Great Time to be Alive (for Lion Dance Enthusiasts)!

(originally published January 9, 2014)

In case you couldn't tell by my lack of new blog entries, I've been pretty busy lately with my projects. I did want to make a quick update though to let you know about two great new resources that should have aspiring lion dance artists jumping up and down proclaiming it's a great time to be alive! Never before in history have there been resources like this available for people to learn the artistry side of the lion dance, and to have them in English is really good news for those of us whose native language is not Chinese.
The first is an Amazon Kindle e-book called "Lion Dance Drawing: The First Book on How to Draw the Lion Dance" by fellow lion builder Bambang Edison Soekanto from Indonesia. A real steal for only $10. If you don't have a Kindle, there are readers and Apps available for PC, Mac, Android and IOS. Check it out in the Amazon Store here, and preview some of the things the book teaches on his YouTube feed here.

And check out some of Edison's work on actual lion heads here.

Update! Since this blog post was originally published, the paperback version of this book has also been released. A little pricier than the Kindle edition, but sometimes having an actual print version has its advantages. The same link above will take you to both versions.


The second book coming out just in time for Chinese New Year (January 31, 2014) is the lion head build and restore manual I mentioned a couple of posts ago. After three years it's finally ready to go!
You won't find information like this in print anywhere else in the world, and it would cost many times more than the cost of this book if you wanted to travel to Asia to learn the art. I don't want to turn this blog into a commercial, so just go check it out by clicking here. There's sample pages so you can read for yourself what I've put into it.

Click to read the Foreword:
If you like what you, fill out this interest form to reserve a copy.

So, how am I doing on my other projects? Well, I used the measurements and instructions in the building manual to build a lion frame as a way to check my work and make sure everything was understandable. I plan to make one more frame also based on the manual, but with some customizations and modifications, then paper and paint the both of them together. That build should be extra fun with the features I have in mind, stay tuned!

I haven't had time to take as many pictures as I did for the restoration project, but here's one to give you an idea of what I've been up to:

Until next time, happy new year and be safe as you prepare for lion dancing season!


Feel free to comment below, thanks!

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