A lion prowling the halls of any establishment would usually be cause for concern, but at a local nursing home, it was an opportunity to celebrate.
The Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica treated their residents to a traditional Lion Dance, as part of their celebration of the Chinese New Year on Thursday, February 18.
Wennie Chen, associate director of the Chinese Outreach Program, said the dance was meant to bring luck, fortune and happiness to all of the residents in welcoming the Year of the Tiger.
“This is very important to our residents spiritually,” said Chen, who also played cymbals during the performance. “But it’s not only for the Chinese residents. This really creates a cultural harmony that everyone can participate in.”
Even Gerald Hart, executive director of the Margaret Tietz Center got into the act – deftly beating a traditional drum with a rhythm he learned on YouTube.com just for the occasion.
“We have a lot of Chinese clients here and we wanted to make them feel more at home,” said Hart. “And if we have to embarrass ourselves a little bit in our learning process, we’ll do it.”
If the staff embarrassed themselves a little, the residents did not seem to mind. The clapped along with the drum and expressed enjoyment at the lion’s intricate dance moves, which were performed by Tietz employees Jonathan Chung, as the body, and Manny Caraballo, as the head.
“It was hot in there,” said Caraballo as he emerged from the costume soaked with sweat. “But it was worth it.”
As for the lion itself, the Tietz Center had it shipped in from Singapore and opted to train staff members in the traditional dance so that they could go floor-to-floor, entertaining residents who could not make it to the initial show.
“Last year we had professionals come in and perform, but they left right after the dance,” said Chen. “This time around we wanted to be able to take the lion to each floor, and let some of the sick patients participate.”
Gerald Hart said that the staff members worked hard to be as respectful as possible of Chinese traditions and customs. Practice makes perfect, and Hart believes that next year’s performance will display a lion’s share of improvement.
“This was our first time; we had a lot of fun and we did this to respect the community and our residents,” said Hart. “We practiced for weeks watching YouTube, and we are going to get better.”
