Dance of the Dragon

Dance of the Dragon also called "Running with the Dragon Lantern-hand" or "Dance with the Dragon Lantern-hands" is a folk-specific activities in China.

The dragon lantern is traditionally made with thin strips of bamboo, and silk lanterns. The head, body and tail of the dragon are made with strips of bamboo, then fine silk and is transparent to the glued strips, and feel, scales and paws are painted on silk.
Dragon lanterns have different lengths. Normally, the shortest are in three parts and the longest in more than ten, but mostly odd numbers. A handle is installed in each part of the dragon lantern, so that dancers can keep it. At the end, we light lamps in each party and the dragon-lantern is complete.

When you dance with the dragon lantern in hand, a person holds an object resembling a pearl in the face of current dragon, the dragon and the whole must be followed; It requires strength, skill and endurance, which is why it is often presented by practicing martial arts. Of all the performers, the holder of the ball, that of the head and the holder of the tail are the most important. The holder of the ball is equivalent to a commander and must deal with movements of the whole dragon-lantern. The wearer of the head is the soul of the lantern, and its movements will influence the coordination of the whole dragon. The holder of the tail often has to perform movements such as rolls of jitter etc. But can not see the movements of others must rely on a regular training and act according to certain models.

During the dance, the dragon is accompanied by traditional music played with drums, cymbals and a gong.

The dragon dance there during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is usually performed on certain days as the traditional Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and the Mid-Autumn accompanied by other activities such as fireworks, dances including the lion, mime and other games of balance.

To date, the dragon dance is still a very popular dragons and lanterns have left the country to dance in the world.