ENTER THE DRAGON: Performers using poles carry an image of the Chinese dragon during a Chinese New Year show at Bell Church. The troupe’s routine mimics the movement of the mythical creature symbolizing power, strength, good fortune, and authority. (Photo by EV ESPIRITU)
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines — Hoping to spread the luck brought by the Year of the Water Tiger, a group of students performed in the annual lion and dragon dance exhibitions at the Chinese New Year show at Bell Church here on Tuesday.
Some of them have little or no Chinese ancestry but they braved the COVID-19 pandemic believing it was their duty to offer respect and prayers to the Bell Church’s five patron saints representing the major religions Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism.
Most of the students have been forced to stay at home for almost two years as minors had been restricted from leaving their residences to protect them from the viral disease.
A core team of 30 performers, including grade school children as young as 8, resumed training in December last year with their parents’ blessing, Lloyd Lee, one of their volunteer coaches, told the Inquirer.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Baguio had dropped to single digits during Christmas week. The summer capital also drew a surge of visitors during the holidays, some of whom went to Bell Church, a popular tourist spot at the boundary of Baguio and Benguet province’s capital town of La Trinidad.
Discipline, commitment
Training again slowed down at the start of 2022 because of the surge driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
The students last practiced their routines on Jan. 29 in time for the Tuesday morning performance, which required them to wear traditional costumes and carry props as they leapt across stilts while balancing on the shoulders of fellow performers.
Each move was accompanied by beats from eight drummer girls.
Only a few guests turned up to watch the performance at the start of the day, but businesses were hoping the pandemic restrictions would start to ease this month, a peak tourism season before the worldwide outbreak in early 2020.
According to Francis Brito, a former member of the troupe and Bell Church’s administrative officer, performers are treated like athletes and are taught stunts that require discipline and commitment.
PEEKABOO: Children wearing masks spend their idle time horsing around after their performance at a Chinese New Year show at Bell Church in Baguio City on Tuesday. Their characters are part of the team of crowd entertainers accompanying the performers for the lion and dragon dances. (Photo by EV ESPIRITU)
The acrobatic performances date back to ancient Chinese dynasties and the features of the lion and dragon used at Bell Church approximate the mascots from the southern region of China.
The mythical creatures are meant to drive away bad luck, and the Cantonese lion dance or dragon dance are the highlights of the annual Spring Festival for Baguio families.
Refresher course
Most of the children and teens were required to undergo a refresher course in December because they needed to relearn acrobatic movements after months of inactivity at home, Lee said.
Bell Church’s first dancers were children of the devotees of “Bellism,” a religious movement that harmonizes the teachings of Taoism and Buddhism. The Bellism followers opened the Bell Church here in 1960.The first church at the border of La Trinidad Valley could be considered “the Vatican” of nine other Bell churches put up across the country, Brito said.
A Bell Church scholar, Brito now lives at the compound and has started studying and documenting the history of the lion dancers.
“I want to instill a sense of pride. I want them to be proud about being part of the troupe,” he said.