It’s a traditional art form performed by two people in one lion costume mimicking the movements of a lion. One performer controls the head and the other controls the tail; and the dance is accompanied by a drum, cymbals, and a gong. The Chinese lion dance is popular during Chinese New Year, weddings, business openings, and major cultural events around the community.

A Chinese lion dance depicts the story of the lion(s) overcoming obstacles to reach a symbolic object e.g. lettuce, candy, or scrolls, etc. to spread good luck, joy and fortune to all and to chase away evil spirits. We encourage our audience to touch our lions from head to tail and to feed the lion a lucky red pocket for good luck. The red pocket is also a sign of gratitude to the performers.

Our Southern style lions have friendlier expressions with a mirror between the eyes to ward off evil spirits and a horn on the forehead to fight evil.