How Tet dancers bring the lucky lion alive
Silver Creek High School dancers practice for months to learn to jump, sidestep, cross their feet and and shake to cymbals, drums and gongs.
Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic Vision, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
It’s hot and stuffy inside the lion’s head as Michelle To waits for her cue. Her partner squats awkwardly in the cramped tail. Next to them, two other lions are ready to pounce.
To’s heart races with anticipation. The Silver Creek High sophomore worries.
Is everybody ready? Will she mess up the routine they’ve practiced for months for San Jose’s annual Lunar New Year Tet Festival?
Pop! Crack! At the sizzling sound of firecrackers, the lions come to life. To marches the lions on stage at Eastridge Mall, stepping to the beat of cymbals, drums and gongs. Her worries dissolve as she and the other lion dancers sway and shake, buoyed by cheering crowds.
“I always loved going to these events but never really embraced everything that was happening. Being able to be a part of spreading my culture, [it] helps me feel [more] connected with it,” To said.
In fall 2021, Silver Creek formed the Lion Dance Club, and To joined on a whim. She’d always longed to dance but had been too shy. The lion dance club gave her an opportunity to pursue her dream.
“When I’m in the lion no one can see me,” she said.
The club’s members rehearse up to three times a week to master steps like “hok san” that mimic the four-legged animal’s movements including jumping, sidestepping, and crossing their feet. “I’m happy to be able to finally be the person people are looking at on stage,” To said.
Now in her second year, To is the club’s president. Despite what she’s learned, lion dancing remains a formidable challenge requiring the head and tail to carefully plan out and execute complex movements “to make the illusion look real.”
To serves as the eyes for her partner in the tail.
Kevin Pham, club vice president, describes how he creates the tail’s movements by squatting and leaning forward for the duration of the dance.
“You can really feel your quads burning and how your lower back hurts if you try to stand up straight again. You are also not able to see much except for the ground and the shoes of people,” said Pham, a Silver Creek High sophomore.
Pham and To stress that the secret to mastering the choreography is practice, each time making minor adjustments. “The more you practice, sooner or later you will see how you can create realistic movements,” Pham said. They also study other lion dancers who prompt them with visual examples.
Lion dancing has done more than help To develop confidence as a performer. It’s motivated her to take pride in her Vietnamese heritage. When researching routines, she finds herself learning more about her culture.
To plans on continuing lion dancing so that one day she can perform increasingly complex dance routines with stunts such as “jongs,” where dancers jump on poles. Her primary goal, though, is to teach and spread her love of lion dancing.
“I want them to enjoy [it] like how I do.”
Jasmine Sessoms is a sophomore at Silver Creek High School in San Jose.