‘Be the lion, feel the lion’: the gruelling life of lunar new year lion dancers

Sydney’s Qing Fong dance troupe undergoes intensive training for their busiest period of the year when they will perform more than 100 times and earn ‘lots of pats’ from the crowd • Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Drums and cymbals echo across Mingyue Lay temple’s sun-baked concrete car park. Lion heads made out of papier-mache are dotted around the lot and pairs of kids are jumping on to poles, tables or each other’s shoulders – all while connected at the hip. It’s a sticky night in Sydney’s west, but the 33C heat doesn’t faze these lion dancers, who are gearing up for their busiest period: lunar new year. The festivities continue well past the day itself, with more than 100 performances across three weeks. On the eve of lunar new year, the studio will start their performance at the temple in Bonnyrigg at 9pm and finish well past midnight. Above: Team instructor Jenny Cao and Long Huynh outside the hall Below: Costumes wait to be put on for dance rehearsals Continue reading...

By Isabella Lee, with photography by Rémi Chauvin