Lion, dragon dance troupes in hot demand to usher in 2024 Year of the Dragon

SINGAPORE - Some lion and dragon dance troupes here are seeing an increased demand for their services in the coming Year of the Dragon, and are intensifying their training sessions.
One of them is Nickiseverywhere Team Quan Shen Dragon and Lion Dance Centre, which has received about 28 requests to perform between Jan 6 and Feb 29.
Founder Nick Ong says they are for events that celebrate the Chinese New Year (CNY), as well as performances every day from Feb 9 to 24.
He added that in 2024, they have received between 60 per cent and 250 per cent more orders than in the same period from 2020 to 2022.
Mr Ong said: “I’m worrying about the manpower (we have) every day, as I’m afraid that I cannot give my clients the slot they want.”
He added that his troupe usually trains once a week, but may have four or more sessions a week closer to the festive period.
Feb 10, 2024, is the first day of the Year of the Dragon. In the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is seen as an auspicious character.
In tandem, some home and business owners may engage lion and dragon dance troupes to perform at their premises to symbolically ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.
Lion dance performances usually have dancers under an ornate lion’s head and trailing fabric body moving to the beat of Chinese instruments such as drums, gongs and cymbals.
Dragon dance performances frequently involve men moving a dragon puppet that chases a dragon pearl, both of which are propped up by poles, to the beat of similar Chinese instruments.
Other troupes in Singapore have also seen rising demand to perform during the festive period, which runs for 16 days from the eve of CNY.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.