Lion dancers come together for Auckland workshop

The lions are designed to exorcise evil spirits and summon luck and fortune. Photo / Kenny Rodger

If there were any evil spirits around, it was unlikely any of them would be near Macleans College in southeast Auckland, where a national lion dancing workshop was held this weekend.

A dozen Chinese lions, designed to perform ceremonies to exorcise evil spirits and summon luck and fortune, and their "masters" from around New Zealand met at the college in a bid to improve their skills to get a team into the lion dance world championships.

"Lion dancers in Asia take their art very seriously, and it is every serious lion dancer's dream to enter the world champs, which would be the lion dancing equivalent of the rugby world cup," said George Chan, leader of the Qiao Yi Lion Dance Group from Christchurch.

"It is our dream to get a New Zealand team there, but it is difficult because many here tend to take lion dancing just as a recreational activity or a non-competitive sport."

Master Seow Ho Phiew, from Malaysia, introduced about 30 lion dancers from seven troupes from Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Nelson to hock shan, or crane mountain-style, which tries to reproduce a life-like performance, realistic movements and acrobatic stunts into the dance.