See the lions dance

It's that time of the year again...In about 2 weeks time, Chinese all over the world welcome the Lunar New Year. One of the traditions that accompany this celebration is the lion dance - a traditional dance where two performers mimic's a lion's movements in an elaborate lion costume. One performer would hold up the head and be the front "paws" of the lion, while the other would be the hind "paws" of the lion. The performers would dance and perform acrobatic acts on poles, whilst the musicians play Chinese drums and cymbals.



The story behind the lion dance dates back to ancient China. Apparently, a monk dreamt that sorrows and evils would plague the land. The monk prayed and asked the gods how he could prevent these evils from occurring. The gods told him that a lion would protect them and fight back the evils. Since the Chinese people had never seen a lion before, but had heard stories that the lion was the king of all the other animals, the monk combined all the lucky or magical animals he could think of and made a lion. (Source: Wikepedia)

Anyway, my human was at a local shopping mall (without her favourite beagle, as dogs aren't allowed in malls), when she stumbled on the lion dance performance.

This first 1 minute+ video shows the lion dancing on poles, after a short suspenseful pause at the start... These performers' have amazing dexterity and agility!


The second short video shows two playful lions playing "football".


Enjoy!