Rick Wong, one of the teachers at Hong Luck Kung Fu Club, standing in front...READ ON
Rick Wong, one of the teachers at Hong Luck Kung Fu Club, standing in front of the studio’s ancestral shrine on December 11, 2021. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
A person walks by the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club on the edge of Toronto’s...READ ON
A person walks by the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club on the edge of Toronto’s Chinatown on January 20, 2022. Portraits from the ‘Best of Chinatown’ window exhibition by local Chinatown art initiative ‘Long Time No See’ is pasted on the windows. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Members of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club using a golden...READ ON
Members of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club using a golden and red lion during practice in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Julian Soriano, 32, of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club...READ ON
Julian Soriano, 32, of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club packing up after practice in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
A member of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club drumming during...READ ON
A member of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club drumming during a practice in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Members of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club practicing in...READ ON
Members of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club practicing in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Don Tan, 28, of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club looking up...READ ON
Don Tan, 28, of the lion dance team at the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club looking up at a red and black lion during practice in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
The Hong Luck Kung Fu Club during a practice in preparation for the 2022...READ ON
The Hong Luck Kung Fu Club during a practice in preparation for the 2022 Lunar New Year on January 20, 2022. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Students of the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club fire spinning to bring in light on...READ ON
Students of the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club fire spinning to bring in light on winter solstice, the longest night of the year, on December 21, 2021. Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is a multi-generational martial arts studio in Toronto’s Chinatown, which started in 1961. With Chinese New Year around the corner, this group is preparing for lion dance performances for the local senior community, as a symbolic act to bring in health, luck, and life. (Photo by Katherine Cheng/Globe and Mail).
Celebrations for Lunar New Year – one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture – have been quiet in recent years because of COVID-19.
But in a bright red storefront on the edge of Toronto’s Chinatown, members of martial arts studio Hong Luck Kung Fu Club are preparing to make a splash.
To honour the community’s elderly, the Hong Luck Kung Fu Club is planning to perform a traditional lion dance outside long-term care homes run by the Mon Sheong Foundation in downtown Toronto, Canada.
And with performances right around the corner, members of the studio were practising late into the night to perfect the movements and co-ordinated teamwork.
Katherine KY Cheng
Katherine Cheng is a documentary photographer and videojournalist based between Toronto and Hong Kong, covering breaking news, daily events, and feature stories.