Mont Kiara Shaolin Chinese Lions

Last night I went to the Mont Kiara plaza with Mrs. Klite, my sister and nephew to watch a Chinese lion dance. Since I had missed some not so good performances I had hope that this would be a lot better. Plenty of people were there and crowded in for a good view. Some had decided to watch from above in the car park and others decided to take the weight off their feet by watching from the coffee shops. Everyone had pushed for a good view but the many children were able to push to the front and sit down rather than be trapped behind too many giants. There were a few matsallehs – no surprises there given that Mont Kiara is an expat area. The show started off okay with the drummers and few sword dances, with no fear of injury waving the sword around fast since they were made of looked like wobbly sheet metal. Then after some obvious heated debate amongst the organizers the rest of the show was moved because of the oncoming rain. It was just pushed back further into the open air plaza under some simple sailcloth coverings that graces the entrance to the plaza. After preparing the props for the lion dance, making sure they were safe and dry, the show proceeded. As you can see from the photo below there were two lions in this set who then danced and climbed up the poles. As you can see one of the lion dancers threw in a cheeky grin posing for the cameras.

A few times one of them would slip but easily recovered making it look possibly as part of the show. This was followed by a second lion dance involving some fruit whereby the pair of them would devour the fruit only for it emerge much later as a prepared dish ! The kids who were sitting around the edge with a much closer view than they previously had, were regularly pushed back as they were getting too close. One such little toddler probably thought he deserved a much better view and barely walking, went out into the middle of the set not once but twice and had to be rescued by security. The final dragon dance was pushed back to the original location, I’m guessing because they needed more space to maneuver than the other acts. When this was finished everyone moved quickly and one poor woman fell into the fountain that the crowds had enclosed. I’m glad I went since for me this is the best so far, being better than the ones I used to watch in London Chinatown.

Music of the moment: Massive Attack – Protection