Lion Dance Costume, Southern Style - Black & Red

Southern Lion Dance Costume - Black & Red

This black traditional costume is made of sheep's wool and bamboo structure with red glitter detail inclusions.

Characteristics of the Southern Lion dance costume

• Complete costume including cloak , head, two trousers and two pairs of shoes
• Southern style lion in sheep's wool and bamboo
• Head dimensions : 52 cm (+/- 2 cm)
• Cloak length : 190 cm (+/-10 cm)
• Composition of the head : bamboo
• Trousers size : one size
• Shoe size : 42 to 43 (US : 8 to 9)
• Adult size
• Ideal costume for a size between 1.70 m and 1.90 m (5'7'' to 6'3'')
• Dominant colour : black
• Glitter finish colour : red
• Ears, eyes and mouth can be moved with a traditional wire mechanism

History of the Lion Dance

There are many legends about the origin of the lion dance, but here is the most popular.

The origin of this dance goes back to the Hans dynasty during the development of the Silk Road linking the Western countries to China. The Western countries, which were very dependent on China at that time, decided to give these people a major gift: lions. This is an animal that was not present on the territory and the inhabitants, intrigued by this new species, decided to analyse and reproduce its movements.
This western gift thus, over time, gave rise to the traditional lion dance that we know accompanied by drums and gongs and which is performed during major events and festivals in China; notably during the Chinese New Year.
This dance is a symbol of courage, strength and wisdom and places the lion as a lucky animal guaranteeing good news.

The Lion Dance Style

• Southern Lions:
  The Southern Lions' dance is more solemn than the Northern Lions' dance. Indeed, the Southern Lions' dance is very punctuated and marked by martial poses giving a more wild and ferocious look to the animal. On some costumes, the ears and eyes are mobile to give the Lion more expression and character.
  Otherwise, the movements of the Southern Lions deal with real actions of the animal: clawing, licking its fur or swinging its body.
  The organisation of the dancers is the same as that of the Northern Lions: one dancer in the front (head and front legs) and one in the back (back legs and back structure).

Reminder: The finishes of the Lion costume are subject to change depending on arrivals, the photos are not contractual, in accordance with our GTU