The power and grace of the dragon

MANILA, Philippines - In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power and strength, as well as good luck. These are the qualities that the Philippine Lion and Dragon Dance Association team, as represented by the Philippine Ling Nam Athletic Association, embodied when they won first place in the luminous dragon category of this year’s Asian Dragon Dance Open Championship held recently in Taiwan.

“This is the first time that the Philippines won,” says master teacher and head coach William Soon on their triumph over other more experienced teams from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The Philippine Ling Nam Athletic Association has been in operation for some 54 years, says Soon. He started in the group as a student at the age of 16 and has been in charge for more than 40 years.

“But it was only in the last two years that we came up with a group,” he says. The dragon dance takes a lot of dedication and the ten members of the team must always be present in order to perform the routine together. In the past two years, the dedication of the team finally got it together and the right mix of people, strengths, and talents was achieved. “First time nabuo ang dragon (The dragon was complete for the first time).”

The dragon dance is no easy feat. “If one person makes a mistake, the whole routine is ruined,” Soon points out, though he adds that the camaraderie among the members is so strong that they do not blame those who make mistakes.

Soon explains that it takes a martial arts background to be a good dragon dancer. “Movements, footwork, basic stances, artistic skills, stamina” are just some of the aspects involved in the dance. “You try to be the dragon,” Soon says. “You respect the dragon by performing well.”

“Discipline and respect” are what James Wong says he has learned from being part of the team. “It is the first thing you should learn to be a student at a martial arts school.”

Starting at the age of eight, Wong has been training with the Ling Nam team for 14 years. He is a musician for the dragon dance team and the assistant coach of the lion dance team as well. Like him, many of the students at Ling Nam start young and most become involved in the athletic team through different Chinese schools.

Compared to teams in other countries, Soon observes that the Philippine team has a wider age range for its members – 20 years old and above – while other teams have much younger members.

What is interesting about the Philippine team is that most of them are also volunteer fire fighters, with Soon also serving as fire martial. Helping the community is something that Soon says is important in their team. Aside from training, the team is also involved in medical missions and other community services.

Soon says that he encourages the team to be volunteers because it promotes loyalty. “May pagmamahal sila para sa lugar (They have a love for the place)” – a characteristic that shines during international competitions as Soon points out, “We are fighting for our country’s honor and glory.”

We were more prepared this year,” Soon says of the team. Months before the competition, the team was already undergoing intensive training, with instructors coming in from Malaysia and Singapore to help develop the music and routines for the competition. Wong, who performed as a drummer with the dragon dance team, recalls that in the days leading up to the competition, the team was practicing from one in the afternoon to one in the morning, just to perfect their routine. 

With 10,000 people watching the finals, the Philippine team gave strong performances in the luminous dragon, freestyle, and set form categories amidst cries of “Mabuhay!” from the accompanying drummers and musicians.

Aside from their precision and their clean performance, the Philippine team also incorporated aspects of Filipino culture in their routine to set them apart from their competitors. The team’s musicians stole the show dressed in colorful ati-atihan costumes. “This gave us a plus factor and made us special,” says Soon.

“It was so nice,” Soon says of winning the competition. “It was unbelievable, really God-given,” he adds. The head coach was actually in his hotel room on the night of the competition, too nervous to be present when the results were announced. He asked his team to text him the results instead. When he did not receive any news for a while, Soon assumed that they had not even managed to get third place, which was what he expected. But, later that night, the team surprised him with the first place trophy. “I could never dream that this would happen,” says Soon. “I’m very happy.”

Recalling their win, Wong shares that their score was 911 and, coincidentally, an alarm went off right as they were being awarded. Being mostly fire fighters, Wong says that this was a sign that a higher being was giving them this recognition – “Para sa amin talaga ito (This was really for us).”

Despite their win, the team stays humble. “There were many groups better than us,” both Soon and Wong say. The win was really a stroke of good fortune and a sign from above that their efforts are being recognized and they are on the right path.

“Before the Philippines was not something to reckon with,” says Soon on the team’s past performances. Now, however, they have been elevated to the international level.

Soon and the team are hoping that their win will drum up some much-needed interest and support for the group so that they can continue their training and get even better costumes and props for their next international competitions and performances.

“We hope to get support from the government,” says Soon. Encouraged by the success and acclaim that the team as gotten so far, Soon says, as he gets up to start training, “We are already preparing for next year.”