Wendy's First Year in the Lion Dance Team

Wendy, Carmen's daughter, works at Fosetter. She also dances with a lion dance team. On the morning of September 26, before the team's National Day performance, she walked through Chinatown with our photographer on the way to pick up the gear, chatting as they went. Here is how she put it.

How a customer became her sifu

Our photographer asked her how she found the team, and what the story was.

I work at the Fosetter ginseng store. And Sifu Paul was a customer for a while. He asked me if I wanted to join some classes. Some trial classes first. And I ended up liking it.

How long has she been dancing? "One year."

Kung fu at home, lion dance once a week

The team trains kung fu as well as lion dance, and the two work differently.

Kung fu I can rehearse at home. But lion dance, once a week. We don't have the equipment at home.

So the gear stays with the team, and that morning the first job was to go and get it.

Now we're going to pick up some equipment for our lion dance and kung fu performance.

A first year

Asked whether she comes out every year to celebrate, she said, "I just joined the club one year." Then she added, "This is personally my first year celebrating."

She does go back to China every year with her family. "Of course I like my parents' hometown," she said. Last year they also visited Chaozhou, "just to eat a lot of good food." Her favourite food? "I can eat spicy. Actually, Cantonese."

After the show

That afternoon the team danced from our door down the street, shop by shop. By the end Wendy was covered in sweat and still laughing and chatting with everyone. You can read about the whole day, or find out why the lion eats lettuce.

What her mother wrote

Carmen shared the video of Wendy on her own channel with a few lines of her own.

My daughter doesn't do the classic arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. But dragon, tiger, martial arts and lion still make for a balance of strength and grace. Beyond these two identities, she has a third one, still hidden. Next comes settling in slowly, walking the road steadily, and living out a woman's strength in a land far from home!

Wendy works with us at 78 Rue De La Gauchetière Ouest in Montreal's Chinatown. Say hello next time you visit. More about our family shop.