Lion Dance Celebrations; Eye Dotting Ceremony- An Article by Mr Russell Suthern, Chief Instructor WCMA

The Eye Dotting Ceremony for our new Lion was a tremendous success and a great afternoon at the Heene Church Rooms in Worthing. Many thanks to all students, friends and family of White Crane for attending and for their generous donations.

The Heene Church Rooms were decorated and prepared for this auspicious ceremony. After tea, coffee, cakes and a chat we kicked off with Martial Arts demonstrations. The Martial Arts demonstrations were very comprehensive, showcasing hard and soft styles, empty hands and weapons forms. All the performances were superb. Well done to the Lion Dance Team for the demonstrations.

The Eye Dotting is a Buddhist Ceremony to awaken a new Lion before use and as such is a very important part of the Lion Dance ritual. As the Lion was brought to life and slowly started to move there were gasps and cheers from the audience.

The Lion Dance Team is highly skilled and really brings the performance to life. Even after all these years I still get a thrill watching the Lion perform. I hope that the images convey the excitement and vibrancy of the performances.

I am sure that this event will bring much good luck to all who performed and attended. Thank you to the Lion Dance Team Shafi, Josh Haigh, Joe Jones, Kirsty Sloman and Steph Hammerton.

Mr Russell Suthern, Chief Instructor WCMA