Artists performing the dragon dance in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

Artists performing the dragon dance in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China

Happy Lunar New Year! Colorful performances like this are common during Lunar (aka Chinese) New Year festivities, which begin on the first day of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, or February 16 this year. This will be the Year of the Dog, according to the Chinese zodiac. In a bird’s-eye view of the traditional Chinese dragon dance, we can see how the team of performers uses poles to manipulate the long figure of a dragon, weaving its body in different positions in time with music.