On the afternoon of September 21, amid the sound of gongs and drums, a black and purple lion completed a leap in the air and landed steadily on the ground. Two performers, Frank Lam, 35, and Benjamin Lam, 21, emerged from under the “lion” and bowed to the audience.
The Lam brothers are the leaders of a five-person group called Feiyang – which translates as ‘Flying Eagle’ – that perform these traditional dances. The group has its roots in one of the oldest Dragon and Lion dance schools in Melbourne,
During a two-person performance, one controls the lion’s head and the other the lion’s tail, dancing to the beat of powerful drums.
“Everything we do is to spread this traditional art in the West. Whenever people see dragon and lion dance performances, they know that this is Chinese traditional culture!” said Frank.
Use the QR code to see the dance performance
Members of Feiying are of different ages and performance is not their full-time job.
“The fees from the performances cannot cover our daily life, so this is more like a hobby for us, passion is the reason why we persist,” said Benjamin.
Feiying was originally affiliated with Jow Ga Kuen Martial Arts Association, which was founded in 1987 by Frank and Benjamin’s grandfather Tseng Gong Seng. It was the first martial arts school in Melbourne, teaching Chinese martial arts, as well as traditional dragon and lion dance performing arts.
Jow Ga Kuen Martial Arts Association used to be very large. In its heyday, it was the largest lion dance team in Australia, with more than 100 members and more than 50 lions, and they could perform with 8 lions at the same time. However, after Tseng Gong Seng passed away in 2020, the organization began to fall apart. A core member left and took with him many members, eventually only the five people remained.
“It was during the pandemic, which was a very tough time for us. At that time, we also lost our warehouse and training base,” Arthur, the oldest member of the group recalled.
“But fortunately, the Taoist priest of the temple said he was willing to provide a corner of the temple for us to continue gathering and training. Then, the side hall became our new base.”
“Our goal is to preserve and spread these traditional Chinese arts throughout Australia, introducing it to as many new people as possible,” Frank said.
Frank’s family has a deep connection with the Heavenly Queen Temple, which was built by Chinese refugees who came to Australia during the Vietnam War. They constructed the temple in gratitude to Mazu, the goddess worshipped in southern China, for guiding them safely to Australia. Frank’s family has been helping and supporting the construction and development of the temple as volunteers, including providing charity performances during traditional festivals.
“After the betrayal, we took a year off, this year, we decided to start over,” Arthur said.
Frank and Benjamin re-launched the organization, running the website, social media accounts and doing commercial performances. They create custom performances for many occasions such as weddings, birthday parties, school events and restaurant openings.
Although Feiying’s current scale can only provide small performances with, at most, two lions perform at the same time, they are very satisfied with the current situation.
” Some of the former members are also keeping in touch with us, sometimes they will come to support and help us with our performances, and we are also planning to recruit more members…… I think we have survived the most difficult period, and now everything is moving in a positive direction. We can take on some performances, and the rewards from these performances can support us in purchasing new props and lions,” said Frank.
Benjamin said the death of his grandfather and the betrayal of his brother plunged them into a period of depression for a long time, and they even wanted to give up at one point.
“But when we sorted out the flags and lions our grandfather left us, we realized that this is his precious material and spiritual legacy to us, and we have the responsibility and obligation to pass it on,” he said.
“We have been learning martial arts from our grandfather since we were very young,” Frank said.
“He taught us that the spirit of Chinese martial arts is to never give up easily.”
21 Sep 2024. The black and purple lion “played” by Frank Lam and Benjamin Lam performs a Lion dance in the Heavenly Queen Temple in Footscray, Melbourne, Australia to send blessings to the tourists.
5 October 2024. Before formal lion dance rehearsals at the Heavenly Queen Temple in Footscray, Melbourne, Australia, Benjamin Lam leads the team in a brief outdoor warm-up and physical training session to prevent injuries during the intense practice. He faces the members, controlling the rhythm by shouting slogans and ensuring that each member’s movements are standard.
5 October 2024. The Feiying team is practicing their instruments: Frank Lam plays the drum(middle), Cecilia Young (left) and Alex Chau (second from the right) handle the cymbals, while Benjamin Lam (first on the right) plays the gong. They keep training until every drum beat is in perfect harmony.
5 October 2024. In the side hall of Heavenly Queen Temple, Cecilia Young performs a simple eye-dotting ceremony for the new lion. She uses red paint to dot the lion’s eyes and nose, symbolising the granting of life and soul.
5 October 2024. In the ‘eye dotting’ ceremony Benjamin Lam carefully decorates the lion’s head with cards symbolising prosperity and auspiciousness, which not only enhances the lion’s visual appeal but also makes it appear more majestic. Although he is the youngest member of Feiying, at only 21, he has practiced lion dance and martial arts for more than ten years. Years of drumming and lion dance have left rough marks on his young hands.
5 October 2024. Benjamin Lam leads the members of Feiying to do physical training in the side hall of Heavenly Queen Temple. They line up according to age and do running training in the temple, with the youngest members at the front and the oldest at the back. Frank Lam, the leader of the team, said that whether it is training or performing, the youngest person in the team is always the leader, with the older ones taking the back seat, because culture and art always have to be passed down by young people.
12 October 2024. Feiying perform at a wedding in Melbourne, Australia. The members of the Feiying move their equipment and lions from the underground carpark to the wedding venue, and will soon give a surprise performance to the guests.
12 October 2024. As a surprise guest, Feiying brings a wonderful performance to the celebration. They perform with two red lions, vividly depicting the scene of a couple bowing to each other in a traditional Chinese wedding, sending the most sincere blessings to the newlyweds.
18 October 2024. Arthur Kwong, the group’s oldest member, prepares for the performance at Monash University. He reflects on the tough times the group faced during the pandemic.
18 October 2024. Group members prepare for the performance at the Caulfield campus of the Monash University library, Melbourne, Australia. Former members of Jow Ga Kuen Martial Arts Association have come to support Feiying’s performance at the university. They wear Feiying’s costumes and perform with them. After the performance, they celebrate together and share their joy and sense of accomplishment.
18 October 2024. Feiying members dress up as black and purple lions and present a wonderful performance for students in the university library. Benjamin flexibly manipulates the lion’s head and interacts closely with students, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere.
21 October 2024. on Frank Lam has three of his family’s most meaningful photos posted in front of his desk, at his house in Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Australia. The first one on the left is a photo of his grandfather Tseng Gong Seng during training. The photo on the right is a photo of Frank’s family, and the color photo at the bottom is a photo of Frank’s family performing lion dance in Chinatown in the 1990s. Below the photo is Frank’s calligraphy, which expresses the teachings of his grandfather.