lion dance

A form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. It is is usually performed on big occasions such as cultural and religious festivals, important occasions such as business opening events, special celebrations or wedding ceremonies and notably the Chinese New Year.

The lion dance is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is normally operated by only one or two dancers and has a tail, while a dragon is longer and needs many people holding a stick.

Examples

Operated by one person

Operated by two people

Left: lion dance, right: dragon dance

Japanese version of the lion dance: shishimai

See also

• shishimai, Japanese lion dance

External links

• Wikipedia: Lion Dance

The following tags implicate this tag: shishimai (learn more).