Story: Malaysians and Singaporeans

Hua Khoo, a Chinese Malaysian, came to New Zealand in the late 1970s and became a secondary school science teacher. He learned about the lion dance, a traditional Chinese art form, in New Zealand and is now passing on the tradition to his son and friends. Their troupe performed at the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival in Auckland in March 2007. The dance, which chases away evil spirits, mimics a lion’s movements and is usually performed by two dancers dressed in a lion costume, accompanied by musicians playing drums, cymbals and gongs.