Into the Lion's Mouth
It is the last Saturday in September and the Brown University lion dance team is about to perform. Eleven students sit on the floor of Leung Gallery. The nine team members walk to the front of the room, seven Chinese, two Caucasian. Each wears a shirt bearing a black and white lion design on the front and the words "Brown Lion Dance" emblazed across the back.
The boys who will make up the two lions - Grant, John, Chris and Michael - wear bright yellow pants with orange and gold tassels encircling each leg, meant to mimic fur. The instrumentalists, Cisco and Larissa, wear black pants and black shoes, and Peter Quon, the teaser, sports a navy blue silk ensemble reminiscent of a rich man's pajamas. He dons a mask made of brightly lacquered peach paper mache, with pink dots for cheeks, ruby red lips and thick, black eyebrows. He will signal the lions into place for each stunt.
The four boys disappear underneath the heads and tails. The team's captain Brian Fong welcomes the freshmen, but keeps his remarks brief. He can't convey this magic - this magic that keeps him and his team here, week after week, year after year - with words.
Brian and the team members move into place. Cisco raises his drumsticks and brings them down hard on the drums. The cymbals crash. The performance begins.
Historians trace Chinese lion dancing back to a band of roving Persians who traveled to China via the Silk Road during the T'ang Dynasty (618- 906 A.D.). They performed their Nevruz ("New Day") festival for the emperor who, like his people, had never seen a lion before. The Persians' dance pleased the emperor so much that he ordered the lion to be incorporated into the most important of Chinese festivals, the Harvest Moon and New Year's celebrations. The Chinese, however love to tell another story of how this art form came to be: the Legend of the Nien.
In ancient times, a creature called the Nien roamed throughout China, devouring man and beast. News of these atrocities reached a remote mountain village and prompted its inhabitants to seek protection from the mighty lion.
When the Nien finally stormed into the village, the lion intercepted him and the two beasts fought a terrible battle. The lion emerged victorious and the wounded Nien slunk away into the shadows of the forest, vowing to return in exactly one year to exact vengeance.
Yvain the knight of the Lion, like most medieval tales is a coming of age story. The young, careless thrill seeking Yvain is transformed into a adult and a king that assumes responsibility while taking care of others. This transition can be credited on part to the Lion he encounters on his journey.
The story begins with Col. John Patterson arriving in Mombassa in March of 1898 on the East African coast. All Patterson knows is that he is supposed to help with the railroad being built across Kenya to Lake Victoria, and eventually Uganda. He quickly receives his orders to proceed to Tsavo, a little over a hundred miles from Mombassa, to help build a bridge over the Tsavo River. Upon his arrival, he realizes the harsh nature of Tsavo, with its thick underbrush and rough terrain. Immediately, Patterson is faced with a number of problems, such as a source for quality stones to help build the bridge and the problem of the lions. The stone problem is quickly solved, but the problem of the lions takes much longer.
Through dance and movement, the storyline were expanded with the assistance of choreographer, Garth Fagan. A well-renowned choreographer for his innovative choreography primarily for Garth Fagan dance, Fagan used his unique style of choreography to the Lion King by combining a variety of Ballet, Jazz, Modern Dance, African Dance and Balinese Dance to suggest representations of nature without making a replica itself and use dance to help tell the story (Exploring the Lion King, 2010). Taymor’s idea of expanding the film by adding in choreographic elements not only will set the overall concept, it would additionally guide the visual aesthetic by allowing dance as the main element that balances musical numbers in all categories: effects, music and so on into the choreography (Bluemental et al 210:1999). Both Fagan and Taymor gave major contributions to the different styles of dance and performance techniques from around the world creating the precision and versatility that is being portrayed in the musical. In order to create the ideal staging of the hunting lionesses, flying dancers in the aerial ballet to the takeover of the hyenas at Pridelands, the collaboration between Fagan and Taymor gave suggestions of how these movements being performed with grace and poise using different dance styles and are cultural based be the forefront of the production(Taymor 148:1997). By looking at three notable dances in the musical, this chapter will analyse the presence of dance and movement being portrayed in the musical and how are these dances create the drama, still giving the idea of moving in an African Savannah. Furthermore, this will give an insight to all challenges and pitfalls both Fagan and Taymor endured during the development of the...
In the text it states “The hunters took the lion’s body and cut off the tail, paws,and mane. They gave these to Alleer-Manguak’s family as a token
The Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday for the Chinese people, as it is a time for honoring ancestors and reuniting family members together. The Chinese New Year originated centuries ago from the fear of the great beast Nián (年).This terrible monster resembled a huge ox with the head of a lion. Every year, on New Year’s Eve, this creature would come out and devour the terrified Chinese villagers. Numerous homes and animals were destroyed. Eventually, a wise old man counseled the villagers and instructed them on how to get rid of the horrible Nián. He told the people to hang red paper cutouts on their doors because the monster was scared of the color red. Also, the man advised the villagers to light torches and firecrackers, as Nián was frightened of fire and loud noises. The Chinese followed the wise man’s directions and finally conquered the great beast. After Nián’s defeat, the Chinese called this date “the passing of Nián”, known as Guònián (过年). This symbolizes the celebration of the coming New Year. In addition, in keeping the monster away for a year, the Chinese say Gōngxǐ fācái (恭喜发财), which means “congratulations” This represents congratulating each other for making it safely to another New Year.
Music is an important aspect of every society. Music can tell stories, release emotions, build bridges and break down barriers, but above all music is entertaining. There are various forms of music but not many have as rich a history as gospel music. The importance of gospel music has been relevant in American music for more than a century and its importance to society is still relevant to this day (See Appendix A). Gospel music helped slaves escape to freedom and paved the way for other styles of music. It promotes a spirit of hope and provided an outlet to worship God. So how exactly has Gospel music impacted today’s society?
Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004
In “The Secret Lion,” Alberto Alvaro Rios establishes the theme as loss of innocence in a young boy. The narrator brings to life a boy who must leave behind his youthful perceptions about girls, the arroyo, and his green haven. All preconceptions are shattered, and each glimpse of bliss is taken away. Through this the boy gains perspective, and begins to see the world with a new awareness. Rios ingrains the loss of innocence theme through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who exhibits maturity, autonomy, and disillusionment.
Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion is a text that is given new meaning when viewed from differing perspectives. Readers approach the text with their own unique past and experience, which influences their perception and interpretation of the novel. Two such interpretations are the Post-Modern and Post-Colonial readings of In the Skin of a Lion. These two readings give the text more dimension, and with the awareness that this novel can be interpreted in numerous ways, a reader's understanding is strengthened and deepened.
In 'The Secret Lion'; by Alberto Alvero Rios, the young boys are filled with wonder and fascination about the world. Throughout this story everything in these boys' lives changes.
They should all be professionals, understanding, and ethical. They should be required to have permits and licenses to photograph or shoot. The permits should have to, in advance, specify who the picture is being taken of, where it will be taken, if they have the person who the picture is being taken of 's consent and approval, when it will be taken, etc. Like how a contractor needs a permit, a driver needs a license/permit, or a police officer needs a warrant, photographers should need these kind of things. If these rules are broken, there should be consequences. They should not be able to get away with indirectly killing anyone, for example Princess Diana. The driver in the Princess Diana case shouldn 't be a scapegoat. The corrupt Paparazzi should be held responsible. They people getting there picture taken should have full control over what can go public, as long as they aren 't covering up any illegal actions. America, please, let us to something great again! Thank you.
The term paparazzi is defined as a freelance photographer, usually one who takes candid pictures of celebrities for publication. The term originated from the surname of the 1959 Federico film, La Dolce Vita. Now, the connotation that arises from the word “paparazzi” is much stronger than just a freelance photographer. The paparazzi are annoying, persistent photographers who, in essence, stalk their celebrity victims and go to any length necessary to get the photograph they desire. But, the paparazzi are doing their job to please the public. Paparazzi tend to target celebrities that fascinate the public; the public’s obsession encourages the paparazzi in their pursuit. The public never calls out the paparazzi for invading the celebrities’ privacy; they only call them out when harm or threats come to the celebrity (Nordhaus 286).
The movie starts off with the rising sun in the African Sahara jungle. You hear a loud yell followed by feedback from back up singers as a choir began to sing what would now be a memorable opening theme in cinema history. As a kid I didn’t know what I was watching as all different types of African animals began to ascend across the land to a huge rock. On this rock we see a Lion couple smile as a weird monkey appears and halts up a young lion cub and all the animals cheer in the presence of the young cub. Watching this as I child I was very confused and didn’t really understand what I was watching. Now that I’m older I realized that the gathering of the animals and the cheering for the new lion cub was a celebration of royalty and celebrating the future lions rein. This scene is very similar in history like we see when royal couples, like Prince Harry’s marriage. We get a huge celebration for what would be the next couple in power in England; the entire world was watching the wedding as t...
"C'mon, Chris, you get in the shower first," Taylor ordered from the other bed. "You're already up." Chris conceded and worked his way to the shower. Everyone in the room knew it too, due to his grunting and whining under his breath. Soon enough he was out of the shower and so were Taylor, Anders, and I. We ate breakfast with the rest of the team downstairs in the hotel in silence. It was too early to talk or chat. Everyone knew that one thing was going to be on their minds: winning. It was not worth discussing, either. Everyone knew that our varsity eight was possibly the strongest that McCallie had ever had, and that we had a good chance of winning some gold medals that day, if not a great chance. We loaded on the bus like ants, noiselessly flowing into one little opening. The bus ride was silent all of the way over as well. Everyone's heads, looking intently forward, were slightly jostling along with the bumps in the road. Some tried to sleep, but the tension and excitement was too much for most of them to be successful.
ProQuest Staff. "At Issue: Privacy and the Press." ProQuest LLC. 2014: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.