Dancing lions and serious explosions... Tet in Chicago

[almostskate]

Hi vedranre. Thanks for the comments on my video about the Vietnamese community in Chicago. It was a school project from a few years ago and I had to make a few trips to Argyle to get it done.

This video is great. You shot it really well. The close up clips on the street edited to the music they were playing there really captured the experience. I was in Chinatown for their Chinese New Year celebration this year and it was similar to this with the fireworks and lion dances but with a parade.

[vedranre]

@almostskate Thanks for your nice comment and for watching the video! Chinese NY is a lot of fun, isn't it? I hope to create a series of videos on various communities around Chicago. I'll definitely be down in Pilsen for Cinco de Mayo with my camera, and maybe some other events before that... have to check the calendar what's coming up :)

[crazyBSer]

Hey man, great shooting, i really like the video. i'd just like to clarify that this is Lion Dance, and not Dragon Dance. Dragon dance is the one with a 60-foot long dragon attached to poles and has 9 people carrying it.

[vedranre]

@crazyBSer Thanks for the feedback! I do think you may be right. However, these costumes look kind of like small dragons, don't they? Can someone else confirm that this is lion dance?

[crazyBSer]

@vedranre Yeah, it can be a bit confusing since they look nothing like actual lions from africa. This one here is a He-Shan Lion, with the characteristic flat rectangular face and pointed horn. You can check the wiki articles for Dragon Dance and Lion Dance, they're both pretty accurate.

[vedranre]

@crazyBSer Thanks so much for your enlightening comments! From Wikipedia: "The lion dance is often mistakenly referred to as dragon dance." ... There we go. I'll correct the title of the video, and I'll also vote your comment up. Thanks!

[anhhoangvideo]

Beautiful, from the script to the way you shot and edit, it's look simple but it's not.

If those dancers could dress more professional, your video would be perfect. my Tet video was film by a friend in my backyard for fun to remember the old days.

Thanks for post it to public.

[vedranre]

@anhhoangvideo Thank you very much for your kind comment! Very best wishes in the New Year!

[jjnguyenable]

Thanks for posting and your interest in the Tet celebrations. It's our biggest holiday of the year and hopefully the tradition will live on .

[vedranre]

@jjnguyenable It's a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!

[WalkThatKeroppi]

Cool.

[vedranre]

@WalkThatKeroppi thanks for watching!

[twaintrip]

well done! you really capture the spirit of Tet.

[vedranre]

@twaintrip Thank you! Thanks for watching! It was a lot of fun to film this and I definitely learned a lot.

[insidethehatch]

Well done. I especially like the firework debris blowing away in the wind. Maybe you could ask someone to talk on camera to explain the tradition to the viewers.

[vedranre]

@insidethehatch Thanks! The last shot in the video is my favorite too. It would be cool to interview somebody. I might do that next year. Thanks for watching.