Introduction to the Traditional Southern Chinese New Year Lion Dance

Series Summary

The traditional Chinese New Year Lion Dance is a long-practiced ritual, with over a thousand years of history and performance. It finds its origins in the story of a Chinese village that was being threatened by a monster, ravaging the crops and killing the villagers. As the story goes, a wise Buddhist monk came along and organized a resistance against the monster. He instructed the villagers in how to build a monster of their own to scare the beast away. Though there are variations on this story, essentially, the lion dance today is performed to ward off evil spirits like the monster, as well as to celebrate, to entertain, and to remember important Chinese history.

In these free lion dance video instruction clips, learn about the Southern style Chinese New Year Lion Dance, including a demonstration of dance steps and moves, equipment, costumes, and a little more history. Watch as the Buddha puts the lion through its paces, taunting him with his fan. Also see the lion sleep, eat and dance. Get an up-close look at the Lion Dance ceremony and how it is performed in this video series, a thousand years in the making.

Video Transcript

"He will be demonstrating lion dance. Lion dance is an ancient Chinese tradition used to celebrate weddings, special occasions, special events and other exciting events. We’re going to show you a short clip of lion dance as we perform it here."