Have you seen lions walking on the streets? In China, it often happens during the new year days. The lions dance to the beat of a drum. They are not 1 lions. They are dancers in lion clothes.
The lions are part of the 2 that is centuries old. It started in China. It is meant to bring good 3 in the coming year. In many Asian countries, the new year is4 with the new moon in January or February. In 2022, Chinese lunar (农历的) new year began 5 February 1.
Usually, a lion is made up of two 6 . One dancer controls the head. The other controls the body and 7 .
"I think of it as a sport," says Anthony Huang aged sixteen. He is a(n) 8 of the New York Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club. Anthony performs as the lion's head. It can weigh 20 pounds. Lion dancing is9 to Anthony. "This tradition really represents(代表) me," he says.
In the past, lion dancing was performed mostly by men. 10 it is more inclusive (包容的) today. LionDanceMe is a lion dancing group. 11 is in San Francisco, California. There are boys and girls in the group. They dance together.
Ananda Tang-Lee is seventeen. She says anyone can12 lion dancing. "You have to have13 that you can do it," she says.
There are14 types of lion dances. One of them is15 Jong. In this one, lion dancers do tricks（把戏）on poles（杆子）more than eight feet tall. The dancers use their acrobatic(杂技)skills. They also use martial-arts（武术）skills.
