Lion dance makes dawn appearance in Lae

Story by LARRY ANDREW
THE New Year weekend celebration in Lae was quiet with families observing the New Year in their homes.
But the Chinese community brought some excitement early on New Year’s Day when members performed the traditional Lion Dance around the city.
Lae Biscuit Company managing director Ian Chow said the Chinese New Year was in three weeks’ time.
“And we are here celebrating with the Western world’s time and calendar,’’ he said.
Chow points out that 2012 is “Year of the Dragon”.
The Lion Dance troupe is made up of employees from the biscuit company, Super Value Stores and K.K Kingston.
The locally-trained dance troupe “woke” the Lion at the Chinese Club and paraded around the city from 6.30am to 5pm.
They covered 33 business houses before putting it back to “sleep” for a year.
Performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion’s costume.
The dance is often mistaken for a dragon dance.
An easy way of telling the difference is that a lion dance is performed by only two people while a dragon dance requires more.
Families on trucks and others on foot followed the dance troupe around the city.