Run for Life 2007

Sunday September 16, 2007
Rotary Run for Life Lion Dance

Today I embarked on the coldest Lion Dance I have ever performed. However, it went quite well.

We - being Sifu’s Brinker, Freitag, Dennis, Robertson, Davies, Davies, Sihing Harrigan, and myself, arrived at about 8:30 am at Exhibition Park. Silent River Kung Fu performed there last year as well, so we were not going in blind, which was nice.
We drove in, having to dodge a wide assortment of runners - very dedicated people if you ask me. I am not sure that I could get myself motivated to run outside in the cold for anything, well maybe for a cause like this. Maybe. Once we had our gear stored inside the arena, we went to have a nice hot breakfast. Complete with hot coffee and hot chocolate. Mmmmm.

The dance started at 9:35 so we had considerable time to pass. Did I mention that it was cold? I did find however that wearing sequined pants over top of Kung Fu pants is actually quite warm, not to mention very fashionable. Once our time was near, it was time to be brave and discard the couple of sweaters I was wearing and bare my arms in my t-shirt. Okay, we all had to bare our arms...

The dance began and went quite well. The cold was actually not a factor in our performance, and perhaps made it better. The head stack with myself and Sifu Davies was perfect on our first attempt, and no one slipped on any stray lettuce. And from the crowd’s applause and Woo Woo’s, I would say it was a huge success.

While I am not a fan of the cold, this dance was one to remember. The dedication of the runners, who raised money for Mental Health, was inspiring and I am in awe of them. I hope to be a part of this cause for years to come as Mental Health is something that is highly overlooked, and under treated. I like to think that by doing something like a Lion Dance, even though it is a small something, I am making a difference.

Sihing Tania Wilson