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Lion Dance
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.
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
www.chcp.org
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