Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance

International Crafts and Food  on the 10th of February marks the return of Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance. The new name, adding “Dragon” into the mix, underlines the two main mythical figures that hope to bring a prosperous year to everyone in attendance.

“The atmosphere was great,” says Troupe Leader David Wong. “It was really good to showcase the Chinese culture to the public.”

Last year, they took their performance all over the markets, greeting both visitors and stallholders in the upper and lower levels, and even outside. The rest of the year was also quite busy having more performances than in the year previous. David attributes this to positive reference through word-of-mouth and their social media presence.

“They heard the drums and saw our two purple lions, and they were suddenly spruced up so they were happy, awake and smiling”

The troupe has performed at all sorts of events such as special holidays, grand openings, weddings, the Moon Festival, and Chinese New Year. They even have a surprise birthday party to look forward to.

One of the past year’s highlights was their return to the Canberra Airport. As you can expect, everyone in the departure lounge was quite surprised. “We welcomed a Singapore Airlines flight in the morning at the arrival terminal and did a performance for them as they came in,” says David. “They were a little bit tired because it was about 10 o’clock in the morning from an eight-hour flight, but they really appreciated it because we brought the festivities.

“They heard the drums and saw our two purple lions, and they were suddenly spruced up so they were happy, awake and smiling. That’s the stuff that really drives us is to make people happy and to promote the culture.”

Every year, Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance challenge themselves to do better and to showcase new performances. With their return to the Old Bus Depot Markets, David advises to expect lots of new things ahead. “We’ve been working very hard in the off-season to bring a new showcase for the Old Bus Depot Markets,” says David. 

“It was really good to showcase the Chinese culture to the public”

New benches, new props, and new lions will spruce up a familiar routine. One of the stories revolves around a lion who’s curious about something at the top of the mountain. He then shows courage in reaching the top. A new purple dragon will also weave around the stalls for good luck. That’s just a small glimpse of a performance that needs to be experienced. Expect a few acrobatics and a lot of percussions.

But which is the lion and which is the dragon? You can read our conversation with David last year when we spoke about the differences between the lion and the dragon dance.

See Prosperous Mountain Dragon and Lion Dance perform live for International Crafts and Food on 10th February. They are @CanberraLionDance on Facebook and Instagram. You can also visit their website to learn more. If you would like to book a performance or join the troupe, you can reach David on 0401-198 016.

To stay up to date with the latest on the Markets in Canberra, follow us on Facebook @OldBusDepotMarkets.