Gallery: Incredible skills of Vietnam's dragon dancers

As accomplished acrobats, dancers, martial artists and musicians, it's little wonder dragon dancers in Vietnam are revered as serious athletes

By Adam Bray 20 July, 2011

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Quang Dong is one of eight active troupes in Phan Thiet. The best troupe in the city, it can stage a performance with up to 25 lions and five dragons. Each lion requires two performers (one for the head and one for the rear). A single dragon puppet requires nine performers (a puppeteer for each body segment).

Lion dancing is much more difficult than it appears. It takes at least two years of practice to become an adequate lion dancer. Many of the movements require both performers to leap long distances in tandem.

Music provided by cymbals, drums and gongs is a vital component of dragon and lion dancing. The beat of the drums actually directs the movement of the dancers. Traditionally, girls may only play the role of musicians in dragon dancing troupes.

Lion dancing serves not only for entertainment but also formal religious ceremony and storytelling. Here Quang Dong’s Tran Anh Tuan, 17, acts as a lion tamer from a mythological story, tumbling and somersaulting through the air as he spars with one of a pair of lions.

Lion dancers begin training as young as eight years old and typically retire in their early 20s. Involvement in a troupe provides valuable discipline, teamwork skills and rigorous exercise and physical training. Skilled performers are also very popular with peers and in the community, much like successful athletes.

Phan Thiet's Ky Lan (from the Chinese chimera, Qilin) only appears once every two years for the Nghinh Ong festival. Originating in ancient China where it is known as the Qilin, the Ky Lan is a fearsome-looking yet peaceful chimera. At 49 meters long with 19 body segments, this is the largest Ky Lan in Vietnam. This creature requires 22 people to operate; four of them devoted solely to the complex puppetry of the head.

Kung fu performances are frequently included within shows. Emphasis is on impressive, acrobatic fight scenes. Great care is taken for safety but occasionally accidents do happen.

Dragons are considered symbols of strength, power and good fortune. Red and silver, particularly in combination, symbolize joy and prosperity and the number nine is considered lucky in Vietnamese geomancy. This dragon has nine body segments and requires nine performers.

Dragon dancing troupes have no official hierarchy of members. Nonetheless, Tran Van Vu, 20, finds himself the captain as the oldest and most skilled performer at Quang Dong. Dragon dancing is a rite that passes from father to son. Vu is the fourth generation of dragon dancers in his family, and plans to encourage his children to perform.

There are many variations of lion costumes and dance techniques in Vietnam. This costume is similar in appearance, and the associated dance is similar in form, to the Saja-nori dance in Korea. Also requiring two performers like a conventional lion dance, the result looks like a ghostly ghoul, floating and writhing along the ground.

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When Chinese merchants established trading communities across Southeast Asia centuries ago, they also introduced dragon-dancing troupes.

But far from being an easy task, to become a dragon or lion dancing perfomer requires years of training, great martial art and acrobatic skills, musical training and a strong teamwork ethic.

The rewards are great -- the best performers can be lauded by their community much like successful athletes.

Martial arts skills are often included in the shows.

On the coast north of Ho Chi Minh City, the old market quarter of Phan Thiet has strong Chinese cultural roots.

Dragon and lion dancing is a prerequisite for good luck during Tet (Lunar New Year), Trung Thu (Mid Autumn Festival), and Nghinh Ong (an amalgamation of Chinese and fishermen’s religious festivals), as well as grand opening ceremonies of new businesses.

These vibrant images of Phan Thiet’s dragon dancers portray not simply colorful festival celebrations, but also an important segment of Vietnamese culture that has flourished for centuries.

Adam Bray has contributed to more than 15 guidebooks to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, and has written (and in many cases provided photography) for publishers such as DK Eyewitness, Insight Guides, Thomas Cook, ThingsAsian, Berlitz and Time Out. He is fluent in Vietnamese and speaks a smattering of other local languages, including Cham and Khmer.

View Adam's blog fisheggtree.blogspot.com/

Gallery: Incredible skills of Vietnam's dragon dancers

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