Fourteen teams from 10 nations across Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Thailand and Myanmar brought their lions to life, jumping across the stage, ferociously blinking and shaking their heads in front of a cheering audience.
"We are getting ready to show our most perfect competitive style," said Liang Tiao Yuan, one of the members of the team that had flown all the way from Beijing to take part in the contest which is in its eighth year.
Many of the teams integrated various martial art forms into their traditional, acrobat performances, all to the sounds of clashing cymbals and beating drums.
The contest was set against the backdrop of hundreds of goat-shaped lanterns and thousands of shimmering gold coins that are festooning Chinatown, and is one of Singapore's Lunar New Year celebration events.
"Well one of the things I want to do while I'm living here is experience one of the things that are very Singaporean, and this is something that my friend Angela invited me to, and it's just something exciting to experience and take in Singapore at the same time," said Becky Clarke, an American living in Singapore.
One of the teams from Singapore emerged as the competition winner with a colourful performance. Taiwan followed in second place and another Singaporean team came in third.
The Myanmar team wowed the crowd, but didn't score with the judges.
"I am a fan of lion dance, so every year I make my way over here to watch it. But I think the results are not up to my expectations. I was hoping the Myanmar team would win, but too bad. Although I'm Singaporean, but I thought one of the Myanmar teams really did very well", said David, a Singaporean lion dance fan.
The Year of the Sheep (or Goat, or Ram) according to the lunar calendar will begin on February 19, but the decorations festooning Chinatown will be on display for over six weeks, from January 31 to March 19. — Reuters
