Jeanette Aw only had 3 hours to learn lion dance before performing at a nursing home

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, Singaporean actress Jeanette Aw, 46, picked up a new skill to put to meaningful use this festive season.

The skill in question? Lion dance.

Documenting the experience in a YouTube video, Aw was first surprised by her YouTube channel, JA Unscripted, crew with the task of the day. When she was presented with a pair of black flats, she froze for a moment before breaking into a mix of laughter and tears, visibly struck by the task she had been presented.

Once she had calmed down and gotten dressed, Aw met the leader of the local troupe, Teng Feng Dragon & Lion Dance Association, to learn more about what she had been tasked to master for the day.

Completely new to lion dance, Aw was introduced to the basics – starting with the lion’s waking and greeting movements. These foundational steps are performed at the very beginning of a performance, as the lion makes its entrance and greets spectators.

Despite the complexity of some of the moves, Aw quickly picked up the steps from her coach of the day, Jayan. She learned how to engage with the audience and even practised the signature move of tossing the orange from the lion’s mouth.

After about three hours of practice, Aw was given her main mission – performing her newly learned lion dance skills at a nursing home. She even rode with the lion dance troupe on a lorry, an experience that was a first for her.

Aw later delivered her performance, engaging with the elderly and even tossing oranges and a banner from the lion’s mouth – an impressive feat considering she had only trained for a short time.

Still under the lion’s head, she remarked, “I’m sweating inside like it’s raining.” The effort required was evident, giving just a glimpse into the hard work put in by lion dancers.

Upon finishing her performance, Aw was met with cheers from the elderly and treated to a musical performance by the residents as a warm welcome.

Despite her hands being covered in abrasion marks after it all, she achieved her goal of spreading positivity. One viewer, who is a lion dancer himself, even commented that he was impressed by how well she performed after just three hours of training.

Reflecting on the experience, Aw said: "I think it's quite meaningful to have an event like this at the start of the year. It's just that I was a bit shocked at the start. When I first lifted the lion head my arms were already sore."

She continued: "[I'm] the kind to get frustrated if I don't do it well, but for today's performance, I feel like it was okay, and they wouldn't mind too much that it wasn't perfect. Everyone had a great time, and I think that's the most important thing. It was just a small performance, a little token, yet they showed me so much love. I think they're amazing."

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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