A Double Serving of Canada Day

This year we were asked to perform at both the Spruce Grove and Stony Plain Canada Day festivities, so a busy day was assured for us. Sifu Clements was unavailable, so it was decided that an entire new team was going to be used. Kwan Kung was the lion again, and Sifu Davies performed as the head with Mr. Turlock as her tail and myself (Sifu Robertson) as the Buddha. Usually the title is ‘Little Buddha’, but at 5’10 I can hardly claim that, though I managed to avoid ‘Big Buddha’, mostly by deliberately slouching to an extreme degree. Master Brinker drummed his merry drum, with Sifu Frietag and Sifu Hayes accompanying on the gong and cymbals.

The team, while experienced lion dancers, were new to these positions of the Kwan Kung dance, so a lot of work had to be done over a short period of time. Fortunately it paid off with two lion dances going quite successfully. However, there were a few close calls. During the lift, only her small size and Mr. Turlock’s strength kept Sifu Davies from doing a faceplant, lion and all. In addition, I was a hair’s breath from losing my mask at one point, but managed to accelerate into it.

The Spruce Grove dance had the better location, with very nice grounds and sound system. However in Stony Plain, due to some organizational difficulties, we were forced to do the dance on a fairly extreme slope, which is hardly ideal. However adjustments were made on the fly, and it turned out well.

Following the dance was a four piece demo consisting of Sifu Dennis’ Tai Chi C’haun, Sifu Edge with butterfly knives, myself with the drunken monkey form, and Sifu Playter with his spear. Sifu Dennis, as always, performed the Tai Chi beautifully, and I was very impressed with how easily she adjusted to the uneven ground and Stony Plain. Sifu Edge has only being studying butterfly knives for a very short time, and she put in an incredible amount of effort over only a few weeks, and it certainly shined through. This was the debut, so to speak, of the drunken monkey form, and it (apparently) was successful, though I don’t really know. Sifu Playter’s spear hardly needs speaking about, since so much has been said already. Suffice to say it is like watching a symphony compressed into a man, and he performed as well as he always does.

-Sifu Robertson

ps- Here’s hoping the next lion dance won’t have clowns hanging around.