Seeing The Lion Dance Dancing In The Water

JAKARTA - The sound of drum beats and cymbals echoes in front of the main aquarium at Seaworld, Ancol, North Jakarta. A pair of red and yellow lion dances danced in front of dozens of spectators.

Both of them move dynamically even though there is no scene jumping over a pole, like a lion dance in general. Their compact movements keep the audience entertained and capture the moment.

After these two lions danced, they suddenly fell silent and fell asleep. Apparently in the story they were playing, these two lions were asleep and waiting to be awakened by a God of Luck. A god who is believed to be a symbol of prosperity, prosperity and blessings to welcome the new year.

Before long, in the main aquarium, which was in front of the lion, appeared a diver wearing divine clothing like most Chinese legends. His clothes are dominated by red, complete with gold ornaments. The diver then raised his hand.

"Finally, the god awakens the lion dance which is believed to drive evil forces away from humans," said a narrator who explained the story.

The music then changed, becoming more tense. It turned out that the god in the aquarium summoned two other lion dances which were also red and yellow. These two lion dances are presented with the aim of protecting all creatures that live in the waters. The two lion dances in the water danced even though they seemed difficult because of the waves of water in the aquarium.

Apart from the two water barongsai, there are also dragons that are featured in the aquarium. The dragon, played by the four divers, was seen snaking in the main aquarium and lined up with lion dance.

The show, which lasted for 15 minutes, managed to attract the enthusiasm of a number of spectators who attended. The proof, after the event, the audience then gave a big applause.

After performing the lion dance in the water, the VOI team was invited to meet the diver team on duty at the event. In the room above the main aquarium, we met Ferry Ferdiansyah, who had just surfaced after diving into a green lion dance.

He opened his diving goggles and rinsed his body and oxygen cylinder before talking to us. The goal is that seawater does not stick to his body and the oxygen cylinder is free from rust caused by seawater.

Ferry opened the chat by telling the outline of the story of the water lion dance, which was specially held to welcome the Chinese New Year or Chinese New Year.

"So this tells us that on land and at sea there are guards so we collaborate on the land and water lion dances," said Ferry when met by VOI at Seaworld, Ancol, North Jakarta, Saturday, January 25.

Playing this lion dance is not easy. The difficulty he experienced was the weight of the lion head which was quite heavy.

"One lion dance, it weighs 10 kilograms," he said. Meanwhile, the weight of a dragon that was moved by four people could weigh up to 20 kilograms.

Another difficulty is about maintaining balance and cohesiveness in the water. According to him, if one rowed forward, then one water lion dance player had to go forward. The preparation for this show was only carried out for three weeks.

"But not every day, it can be twice a week. The important thing is to adjust the compactness because we bring the lion dance inside if it's not compact, it's hard too," he said, smiling.

The players are also in a safe condition when diving because they use qualified diving equipment. "The important thing is to keep wearing scuba clothes so you stay safe, especially when these scuba clothes are thick. So it's safe," he concluded.