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How an ethnic Chinese teacher piqued Indian students’ interest in lion dance and keeps it roaring
- As one of fewer than 4,000 Chinese-Indians thought to still live in India, James Liao has worked to preserve his community’s traditions over the past 20 years
- The Kolkata native learned his craft from a Malaysia-based lion dance master, and now looks to pass on the music, moves and ‘virtues’ to his Indian students
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It was the evening of the second day of Lunar New Year, and at the only Chinese school in Kolkata, the sound of drumming filled the air. Soon, the heady beat was joined by crashing cymbals and a gong, as costumed performers leapt from pole to pole in a traditional Chinese lion dance.
Onlookers whooped and cheered as they watched the colourful spectacle, but after the 20-minute show at the Pei Mei Chinese high school was over, the man behind it all did not look entirely satisfied.
“We made some mistakes. We would have lost points if this was a competition,” said James Liao, the show’s director.
Liao, who was born and raised in Kolkata, runs a club that teaches lion dance and martial arts in the Indian city. As one of the fewer than 4,000 or so Chinese-Indians thought to still live in India, the 50-year-old has worked to preserve his community’s traditions over the past 20 years – and now aims to pass them on to the next generation.
Each year, Liao and his students perform a lion dance to bring the Lunar New Year celebrations in Tangra, one of Kolkata’s two Chinatowns, to a close. The festivities were somewhat subdued this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but about 300 people still showed up – many of whom filmed the dance for family or friends who now live overseas.
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