During the lion dance ICR practice this week our instructor, Kwan, brought a traditional Chinese drum. This drum gave a background beat to our dances, especially during the beginning and the end of the dance.
At the beginning and end of the dance, the lion dancer bows three times. During these bows, the lion shackles (shakes back and forth). After seeing Kwan do these bows, I felt that this would not be that hard of a dance move. The move was in fact hard because the head position must bend and hold the lion sideways in order to complete the bow. Doing this bow three times is tiresome, using all of your upper body strength, core, and legs.
Kwan would rumble the drum during the bows and then hit the sides very loudly in order to show that the bow was complete. The drum, pictured below, was brown and worn on the top. The sides of the drum are painted black and there is two red and yellow ribbons draped around the sides. In addition to this, gold holding rings are placed to the sides of the drum, creating detail.