Learning the moves is one thing. Learning how to perform is another.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about since I started teaching again is that I can teach someone a movement without necessarily teaching them how to dance.

Previously, I taught moves — enough variations of head shakes, pao si and walking movements so that we could quickly get a functional group together and perform on the streets. Once the students were competent, the next step was usually to learn more variations. But I’m slowly realising that knowing a lot of movements isn’t necessarily the same as knowing how to dance.

Some lions are just more interesting to watch. It’s the way the dancers move. The way they string their movements together. The way they use pauses, direction changes and space. Sometimes it’s the tempo, or the way they make the lion feel lifelike without necessarily copying what a real lion, cat or dog would actually do. And I’ve seen some lion dancers do all of that with a relatively limited number of movements.

So how do I teach something that I’ve mostly learnt by watching others and developing a taste for what I like? I don’t think I have a complete answer to that.

I’m still watching other lions. I’m still finding movements and sequences that I like. I’m still stealing little ideas where I see something good.

But I’m starting to realise that teaching lion dance isn’t just about passing on a catalogue of movements.

It’s also about passing on an eye for what makes good lion dancing.

And I’m still developing that eye myself.