Vendor Spotlight: Q&A with the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team

If you’re looking for a wedding lion dance on the Central Coast, you might be surprised to find that the region’s premier lion dance troupe is a nonprofit student organization.

For over 25 years, the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team has championed the tradition of Southern Chinese lion dancing in San Luis Obispo, where the team performs as the only lion dance team on the Central Coast. The team customizes each performance to fit the occasion, whether it’s the opening of a bookstore, a Lunar New Year parade, or a blessing at a wedding reception.

In this Q&A, the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team shares how they’ve sustained their community, the thoughtful artistry behind crafting a lion dance routine, and how couples can personalize a wedding performance to reflect their own story.

Q: Cal Poly Lion Dance Team has been performing for more than 25 years! What keeps your team community so strong throughout the years? 

A: Cal Poly's Lion dance team can be said to have two purposes: 1. To serve as a place where those interested can learn lion dance, and 2. to be a social club that supports a community of students.

Thus, the "life" of the team largely depends on having people who are interested in lion dance and who are invested in the community. While team membership fluctuated over the years, we have been fortunate that every year there are at least a few people willing to dedicate their time and energy to learning the art of lion dance.

We're even more fortunate that our members are fantastic people who create a tight-knit community that stick with each other and make new members feel welcome, so the team continues to exist.

Q: Tell us a bit about the creative process behind a lion dance performance. How do you balance traditional rituals with your own artistry? How do you choose which lion to perform with? 

A: The main point of lion dance is to tell some sort of story. Each routine should be written with intention behind it, and the writer should question, "why should this move be here, why should this music play here?" There are many common types of lion dance routines; for example, drunk routines where the lion drinks from a jug of wine, bench routines where the lion must climb a stack of benches, symbolizing a mountain, choy cheng, which is when the lions "eat" and spit a head of lettuce, symbolizing wealth, and more. Sometimes, writers may pick the type of routine they want to write first, before deciding on the specifics of the story. Other times, the writer may start with the story they want to tell, and then go from there. It depends on their creative process. For example, if a writer wants to give a specific blessing to the audience, they can include different things in the routine to capture that symbolism.

Balancing the traditional parts of lion dance with our own style is a difficult endeavor. Since the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team is so old, our routines and style has gone through many changes. For the style of our main routines, it generally depends on the trajectory the current captains want to send the team in. If a year's captains want to rewrite a main routine to be more traditional or not, they can make that choice. Individual writers on our team who write a routine specifically for one event also get the discretion to decide how traditional or not they wish to make it. We do our best to provide resources to our members about lion dance so they can make informed decisions when writing. However, there are some things that are completely off limits in lion dance routines that our team respects, and that the captains ensure is enforced. For instance, in no circumstance should a lion ever "die" in a routine, as it is disrespectful to the lion.

The Cal Poly Lion Dance Team traditionally leans more towards the Fut San style of lion dance, which is one of the two main styles originating from Southern China. We also dabble in the Hok San style, which is the other main Southern style.

Choosing which lion to perform with can be a more or less difficult choice, depending on the occasion. The colors red and yellow are associated with good luck, joy, and prosperity in China, so red / yellow lions are chosen for our traditional blessing most frequently. Red is also a very popular color for weddings. We also pick our lions for each routine depending on the style of the routine. For instance, since our traditional blessing is more towards the Fut San style, we use our Fut San lions for this routine (identifiable by their pointed horns and curved mouths). Alternatively, we also have a routine in the Hok San style, and so when we perform this, we would use Hok San lions (which have rounded horns and flat mouths). Picking lions that look good together is important too. We don't want clashing colors that would look bad in photos!

Of course, we must consider our dancers' abilities and safety as well. If one of our routines is particularly difficult, we may intentionally select a lighter lion that is easier to dance in, even though it might go against the style of the routine. 

Q: For a wedding lion dance performance, what types of personalizations can a couple ask for?

A: For a wedding, couples can ask us to personalize the routine to include specific blessings they may want. In general, we write new routines for most wedding performances to accommodate the blessing requests. Common blessings are fertility, long life, resilience, happiness, and wealth. The blessings are represented through the puzzle that the lion solves during the performance. 

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a couple considering a lion dance for their wedding?

A: Think about why you want to include lion dance at your wedding, and what you're hoping to see! We want to make your big day special, and the more details we have on what you're looking for, the better.

Also be sure to reach out to us as soon as possible, so we have plenty of time to prepare and make the performance as best as it can be. Writing and practicing the routine can take up to several months, and the more notice we have the better.

Another consideration is the wedding venue. Some types of routines are made more difficult or impossible under certain situations. For example, we cannot stunt if there are low ceilings or hanging decorations, as it poses a danger to the performers. Lions are also unable to perform in the rain. While these aren't deal breakers (we can always perform a no-stunt routine or indoors), it's definitely something to consider when requesting a performance.

Book the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team for Your Wedding

Not many organizations make it past 25 years, and even fewer become a cultural fixture in the community around them. The Cal Poly Lion Dance Team has done both. If you’re interested in having a lion dance at your Central Coast wedding, check out the Cal Poly Lion Dance Team’s website to learn more.