Lion Dance

Southern Lion   The Chinese Lion Dance goes back some one thousand years. The first record of the performance of an early form of the Lion Dance dates to the early Ch’in and Han Dynasties (Third Century B.C.) The lions express joy and happiness. From the fourth day to the fifteenth of the New Year, lion dance groups would tour from village to village in traditional China. Both lions and dragons figure in New Year’s Parades and other celebrations throughout the year. The Lion Dance also plays an important role in the consecration of temples and other building, at business openings, planting and harvest times, official celebrations, and religious rites. There are even Lion Dance competitions featuring troupes from countries as far from China as Mexico.

Northern Lion The northern lion has a mane and four legs and is generally more realistic than the southern lion, which has a drape and can have two or four legs. One performer holds the lion’s head with both hands and another crouches at the lion’s tail. The southern lion’s head looks is shaped more like a dragon’s but its without horns or a long snout. The southern lion makes dramatic head thrusts to the sound of drums and gongs; the northern lion makes great use of its prancing legs in its dance