Lion Dancers by Cai Tse

Thirteen-year-old Wei Lee's father, Yuho Lee was part of the Black Tiger Lion Dance troupe that won the championship at the Twelfth Asia International Lion Dance Championships two years ago. Watching his father perform and win made Wei determined to follow his father. But two years later, Wei, a student at Bird's Beak Middle School finds himself a loner, despite being the top student in his grade. He's stuck on the bench during basketball practice. Despite offering to sub, Wei is not allowed to practice. He tells his friend Jun, that he is quitting the basketball team. Jun suggests that Wei hang out more often with their friends but he's not interested, especially when Jun's friends just tease him.

On his way home, Wei bumps into a young man wearing a lion dancer shirt. The man initially denies being a lion dancer but then questions Wei who clearly knows about such dancing. Wei tells him he wants to be a lion dancer but doesn't have a team and asks to join.

On the following Saturday when Jun calls Wei for help with their big essay project, Wei turns her down, much to Jun's shock. Wei is never busy on a Saturday but this time he is - he's going to lion dance practice. When Wei arrives at the temple where the lion dance group has gathered, he is shocked to discover his former best friend, Hung is a part of the ensemble. Hung angrily tells Wei he doesn't belong in the group, but the team members tell him to stop, and welcome Wei.

One of the members, LinWei shows Wei around and he tells her that he used to dance with his father until two years ago. She encourages Wei, telling him that with the Lunar New Year coming, they need new members and that the team is like family. At the first practice, things do not go so well: Wei falls and then is sick to his stomach. While he is recovering, Hyunmin (Min) tells Wei that this lion dance group is called the Southern Phoenix Lion Dance team or the Birds for short. When Wei demonstrates his hei si, the members of the Birds are impressed. After practice, Min questions Hung about Wei. He reveals that he and Wei used to train together on their fathers' old lion dance team. Hung was Wei's tail, where the smaller, lighter Wei was always the lion head. Hung knew that he would never get to be the lion head with Wei around. Hung claims he is just surprised to see Wei again, after he left the other team and stopped being his friend.

At home Hung tells his parents about Wei showing up at lion dancing and that he is planning to stay. They are very surprised but believe Hung to be the best dancer on the junior team. At school, Hung confronts Wei and tells him he's not welcome in the Birds. However, Wei is determined to return every week to practice and to become the best lion dancer. At the next practice, Wei works on basic jumps with Bochen. He is told that they try to pair friends together and also take into account the physical makeup of the dancers. Stronger, bigger dancers are often the tail so they can lift the lighter head dancer.

The first set of performances for the Lunar New Year go well but it evident that Hung is not willing to accept Wei on the lion dance team. When his mother suggests that it would be disappointing if he is made Wei's tail again, Hung is more determined than ever to make sure Wei isn't part of the team and that he's not made Wei's tail. Eventually Hung's jealousy over Wei leads him to go to far, alienating his teammates and getting himself suspended.

Discussion

Lion Dancers is a graphic novel about a team of lion dancers as they prepare for performance and competition. The story is told in eight chapters with an Epilogue. Before the first chapter, a page describing "What Makes A Lion Dancer" explains that a lion is comprised of two dancers: the lion head performer and the lion tail dancer, both covered by the lion costume. At the beginning of each chapter a specific feature of lion dancing is explained. Some of the movements described include "scratching", tan bo, and choy cheng.

The main story is that of a lion dance team, the Birds, training in the weeks before the Lunar New Year and the troubled relationship between two of the young dancers, Wei and Hung who have a past together.  Wei and Hung's fathers were lion dancers with the Black Tiger Lion Dance troupe. They trained with the Black Tiger troupe, with Wei being the lion head and Hung being the lion tail. Wei's father (and his mother?) died in a car accident on the way to the wedding of one of the lion dancers. Wei was only eleven-years-old at the time. After his father's death Wei left lion dancing and stopped being friends with Hung, 

The root of the disintegration of Wei and Hung's friendship seems to be Hung's jealousy over Wei being given the position of a lion head dancer. This causes Hung to bully and shame Wei at school for doing lion dancing.  and his belief that being a lion tail dancer is demeaning. At home Hung's parents place enormous pressure on him, telling him that he is so good he needs to be in every performance. After the first Lunar New Year performances, his mother states, "They wouldn't know what to do without you, Hung. Carrying the team like that." Hung's parents are reinforcing his own belief that he is the most important member of the team, when in fact each person is important because it is a team effort. After a particularly intense performance, before leaving the temple, Wei thanks Hung for subbing in for him as he was becoming exhausted. Instead of graciously accepting Wei's compliment, Hung tells him his dancing was so embarrassing he didn't have a choice and that he did it for the team and not to help Wei. 

Determined to make sure he remains a lion head dancer and not in the tail, and makes the competition team, Hung continues to bully Wei at school too. The situation finally reaches a crisis point when Hung deliberately directs Wei to the wrong venue for a performance. He reveals to his teammates what he really thinks about being in the tail - that it is for losers, and how he considers himself the best. Hung's cruel, self-centered outburst leads Wei to try to quit the team, but LinWei encourages him to stay telling him that "....it's not only hard because of the exercise. It's hard because it's teamwork. You also have to learn how to navigate all the different personalities within the team and for some that can be the hardest thing to do." LinWei asks Wei, "How do you respond to this problem, Wei? How you've always responded?"  She challenges him to try a different approach with Hung who it not allowed to perform that day. 

When Hung's parents learn what that he tried to get Wei kicked off the team, they encourage Hung to apologize to his teammates. He does so thanking Gian for lifting him when he was a lion head. He realizes just how exhausting this must have been for the smaller boy. But Hung still remains somewhat hostile to Wei, insisting that he is the best chance the team has to win. Wei explains to Hung he doesn't view the tails the way he does: he sees them as the most important part of the pair, doing the heavy lifting. He tells Hung that some of the best lion dancers are tails. In this way, Wei takes the high road, praising Hung for his ability and his strength, something Wei will never have. He also tells Hung he intends to remain on the team. Wei learns to stand up to Hung, and believe in his own abilities as a lion dancer. 

Lion Dancers is a very well done graphic novel, with an solid story that is well portrayed in the graphic art. The beautiful graphic panels attempt to capture the incredible physicality of Chinese lion dancing, the jumps, lifts and motions of the lion head to express emotion.  Most readers outside of Chinese culture likely know little about lion dancing and Lion Dancers offers a good introduction to what is a very significant cultural element in the Lunar New Years celebrations for millions of Chinese. Young readers are encouraged to check out lion dancing performances on YouTube. Author Cai Tse is a lion and dragon dancer with the Chinese Youth League of Australia. She has been dancing since 2016.

Book Details:

Lion Dancers by Cai Tse
New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers 2024
299 pp.