Learn about lion dance history in S’pore at exhibition

When tiger dancers from Hainan first arrived in Singapore, their craft was overshadowed by the more established and popular southern lion dance.

- Koh Ming Lun

Arielle Ng, 11, the youngest member of the Singapore Hok San Association Lion Dance Troupe, with her favourite lion head, the Heshan lion, at the exhibition titled Tradition In Motion: Singapore's Lion Dance Heritage. The Primary 5 pupil started lion dance when she was eight after seeing a performance at school.

(ST PHOTO: LIU YING)

To appeal to the masses, members of the Guang Wu Club, the last Hainanese martial arts organisation in Singapore, created the Hainan lion dance, fusing elements of the traditional Hainanese tiger dance with the more familiar Foshan lion dance, said Mr Raymond Foo, president of Guang Wu Club.

The Hainan lion dance was last performed in public in 1967 before Mr Foo revived it in 2016. He noted that the Hainan lion dance is culturally unique to Singapore.

The Hainan lion head, with a flatter and more bulbous head than the more commonly known southern lion dance head, is one of eight lion heads displayed at a new exhibition launched by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC).