Lion Dancing club displays culture
The bright hue of a lion dances about as the hard knocking of drums plays in the background. Little does the audience know: two people make up a single lion. Namely, these two parts are the head and the bottom.
The Lion Dancing club was founded in the 2024-25 school year by CVHS graduate student Justin Lee and three others, including the current club president, senior Isaac Nguyen.
At the start of their careers, the group practiced after school for hours, finally leaving around 5 p.m., when the school was closing. Over the weekend, they would get additional practice at the park.
Dedicated to spreading their culture, the dancers bought all the props, including their first lion costume, an additional three more later on, the gongs, and the drums, with their own expenses.
“It’s important to have this club because it represents different cultures, and during celebrations, it’s a form of how we appreciate our culture and community,” said Nguyen. “I enjoy how this club connects us to different schools and communities around Castro Valley, and I enjoy performing.”
With Southern-style lion costumes, the group has performed self-choreographed dances all over for places such as CVHS, the Alameda Library, and Palomares Elementary School. Not to mention, their collaborations with different clubs and organizations, such as CVHS Spotlight and the Chinese Culture Club. The group also performed at the Lunar New Year celebration and Culture Fest at CVHS.
“It’s a great way to meet new people, start a new hobby, and explore East Asian culture,” said junior Amelia Wang, who dances as a lion head.
This year, the club has expanded way past what it used to be, and on Thursdays in the gym, over 20 students take on the festivities of learning the joys of lion dancing.
“All the students work so hard, every time they practice, it has a lot of lifting, dancing, it takes a lot of energy,” said club advisor Joy Sun, who is also the Mandarin teacher at CVHS.
Lion dancing is rooted in thousands of years of history, and combines movements between two dancers requiring core strength, lifting, and the confidence to do so.
“It’s a great form of exercise and has cultural importance,” stated senior dancer Matthew Lee.
While the dancers tend to take the spotlight, the music the lions dance to truly captures the essence of Chinese culture. The instruments, too, make up the performance.
“I like clapping the cymbals and experimenting with different rhythms,” stated senior cymbal player Maddox Low.
For the Lion Dancing Club, the joy of dancing comes from spreading and appreciating culture.
“I’m happy to see this club growing and to see so many kids interested in this club,” said Sun.