By Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Young people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Monday for the emblematic Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance hoping to bring a new generation to the 145-year-old tradition.
Each year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, more than 300 male performers parade a 67-metre-long dragon festooned with incense sticks through the alleys and narrow streets of Hong Kong island’s Tai Hang district watched by throngs of people.
But in recent years, the dance’s appeal has dwindled despite the city government designating it as intangible cultural heritage.
So this year, members of the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance Youth League composed of 100 children and young people took part in a smaller version of the dance alongside the male dancers of the main performance. Their version featured a “little fire dragon” illuminated by 10,000 LED lights.
Cheung Kwok-ho, 52, acting Commander in Chief of the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, told Reuters he had set up the little fire dragon because he wanted to pass on the tradition.
“I hope the children will know the fire dragon earlier and join our fire dragon team when they are very young,” Cheung said.
In the past, women were not permitted to touch the Great Dragon’s body during the dance as it was considered unlucky.
However, the Youth League offers women the chance to take part.
Sonija Chan, 23, a Dragon Ball Dancer of the Youth League, told Reuters that since she was three-years-old, she had grown up watching all the males in her family, including her uncle, grandfather and father, perform the Dragon Dance.
“Even though we still can’t touch the Great Dragon, I’m very happy and lucky to be able to participate in it,” Chan said.
“We need to pass it on to let others know about our hard work, our sweat and our happiness.”
Another Youth League member, Rollen Lau, 12, told Reuters that it also helped him to “learn more about team spirit” and “understand more about the history of Tai Hang”.
(Reporting by Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang; Editing by Farah Master and Angus MacSwan)
