Lion Dance
Lion Dance is a ritualistic performance. It is usually performed for these reasons: practice ( most common reason ), ritual, competition. The lion dance is performed either by a professional lion dance team or a team from a Kung Fu ( any Chinese external system ) school.
The Parts: a group of people are involved, but the most important is the Lion Team: the "head" and the "tail". A Lion consists of the lion costume and two guys ( never seen or heard of a girl doing it ), one working the large wicker "head" of the costume, the other working the long, colorful blanket which is the body or the "tail". Most often a lion is accompanied by music, consisting of: (most important) the Lion Drum, the large and small cymbals and the gong. Often, a "Buddha" accompanies the lions, pretending to be their "handler". Last, but not least, is the Igniter of Firecrackers.
The People: the lion team(s) and the "Buddha" perform physically demanding work, combining kung fu and acrobatic movements. The drummer sets the pace for everybody. The music makes everything better.
The Ritual: there are no lions in China ( tigers yes, lions no ). In ancient times in China the lion was considered to be a mythical animal. The Lion Dance was ( and still is! ) performed for the purpose of driving out Evil Spirits. Basically, it brings Good Luck. Typically, it is done for grand openings, festivals or other important events like Kung Fu ternaments or the Chinese New Year. Three elements of the "dance" drive away evil spirits: the firecrackers, the music and the lion itself.
What the Lion Does: the lion moves vigorously and energetically. Yes, he'll jump and he'll stomp and he'll drive them bad spirits away! There are many "canned" stylized movements that can be done with the head and with the tail to make the lion look like a lion. It is very important for the lion to stay "in character" throughout the entire performance, wether it be dancing or "sleeping" or "eating" or doing tricks or even "fighting" with another lion. That wicker head may be quite lite when you pick it up, but by the end of the dance it is a struggle to move it with energy. ( Lion dance performed with low energy looks really lame, like a sorry comedy. )
The Prize: a big part of the "dance" is for the lion to get his food/prize. This is because it may bring bad luck not to reward the lion for his efforts. The prize is usually money, and the basic idea is this: I'll give the lion some money, I'll get even more in return from the good luck lion brings. Symbolically, the food is represented by a head of lettuce or, sometimes, a hollow coconut. The money's inside! or tied just outside the object. The food is usually hung by a twine from an overhang, a roof, a tall pole, whatever. Here's a little kung fu test: shimmy up a 20' pole while wearing the head ( followed by the tail ), make "realistic eating motions" with the head's movable "mouth" to "eat" the coconut tied to the top of the pole ( it takes both hands to work the head ). Shimmy back down without dropping the coconut, kneel and squat on the ground so the head completely covers you, move the head in jerky little motions with shoulders and elbows to make it look like the lion is "eating", while doing that, palm break the coconut to get the money! Yes, the good teams do that. In the Far East there are national teams and World Championships.
Tricks: are challenging movements performed a few times throughout the dance. The difficulty of the tricks shows the skill of the team. It is important that the lion stays "in character" at all times. Some basic tricks: two- and one-leg stands ( tail guy squats and head guy jumps up to stand on his thighs, which should be nearly parallel to the ground ); sholder stand ( head guy works his way up to stand up on the tail's shoulders ); roll ( the lion rolls over on his back ). Some advanced tricks: "fighting", dancing while in shoulder stand, climbing poles, jumping obstacles, tightrope walking, etc.
Note: Jackie Chan does an awsome lion dance ( two lions fight for prize money, which turns into a school vs. school brawl! ) in a movie... I forgot it's name. Really. Sorry.