Why You Should Book a Lion Dance for Your Business
- Janice Leung
- Jun 30
- 6 min read
Lion dances are said to bring good luck to anyone who witnesses them. Because people want their businesses to succeed, it’s becoming more common to have lion dances for major events like grand openings and to kick off the new year.
Both small and large businesses are booking more lion dances than in the past. Here’s a breakdown of why businesses are booking more lion dances, the benefits of having one, and information on how to reserve a lion dance for your own business.
Why businesses book lion dances
The main reason business owners book lion dances is to bring prosperity for their business. Lion dances are said to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for all of those watching their performance.
Many businesses also book lion dances on special occasions like grand openings or to celebrate milestones like business anniversaries.
The percussion team’s loud and energetic drumming scare off evil spirits, and the lion dancers’ powerful moves (based off of real kung fu), combined with the lion costume features like the mirror and horn at the top of the head, also play a part.
Often, the lions also shower the business owners in vibrant green lettuce. Lions toss lettuce during performances because in Chinese culture, lettuce symbolizes wealth. This is because the word for lettuce is choy (菜), which sounds very similar to the word for “wealth”, pronounced choy (財), with a different tone. It is said that if you’re hit with the lettuce, you’ll be blessed with plenty of wealth in the coming year. No wonder why business owners love to get showered in lettuce and many make an attempt to catch it as it falls!
After the lettuce, the lions also present scrolls with auspicious phrases. Often wishing for good health and prosperity, our lions display scrolls that represent good business and a big stream of money. This is always one of the best photo opportunities for business owners.
Lion dances aren’t only to bring good luck—they can also bring good leads!
Other businesses want to celebrate Lunar New Year and the diversity of its staff and customers, so having a culturally significant and traditional performance is one of the best ways to do it. Not only do they embrace tradition, but it always makes for a memorable performance and a tremendous marketing opportunity.
Plenty of businesses will announce a big celebration with lion dances, special food offerings, and other performances, bringing hundreds of guests to their front door. Guests will remember the excitement of the performance and also the commitment to diversity and culture.
The visual spectacle also translates really well to social media and other marketing materials. Our lion dancers know how to pose to make memorable photos, and there are some special options you can request as well. The best in our mind? The colourful dazzle of LEDs. LED lions bring a touch of modernity and an unmatched show, really setting your business’s Lunar New Year celebrations apart or making the ultimate splash on your grand opening.
Lion dances are great for your staff as well
Not only will your guests be awestruck by the show, but your staff will love the show as well. A lion dance to cap off a Lunar New Year celebration is an excellent way to boost employee satisfaction since it’s not something that they’ll see every day. Most companies don’t think of ordering a lion dance, so having one is special.
Here’s one bonus that we offer: workshops. We have taught workshops to the staff of multiple companies after our performances, including Sony Pictures Imageworks.
Instead of just watching a show and snacking on some free food, participants actually get the opportunity to try on a lion head and learn some basic movements. This makes for an interactive experience that can’t be topped. Not many clubs allow non-members to even touch their lions, but we are proud to do anything we can to spread traditional Chinese culture.
We believe that anyone who wants to learn lion dance and kung fu should be able to, so we also extend our offer of free trial classes to not only our clients, but anyone in Vancouver.
When businesses book lion dances
Lion dances are most commonly booked to celebrate the Lunar New Year, but there are other popular celebrations, including:
grand openings,
major rebrands and re-openings,
business anniversaries,
milestone celebrations, and
other internal company events.
As we mentioned earlier, the most common reason that businesses book lion dances is to bring blessings and good fortune for their business. This is why the two most popular lion dances are for grand openings and the Lunar New Year. Everyone wants a prosperous start, so what better time than the new year or right when the business is opened?
Do I have to be a big company with a big budget to book a lion dance?
Many small businesses worry about the cost of a lion dance, seeing as we have worked with multinational corporations and well-known local businesses with multiple locations in the past. However, small businesses can also benefit from a lion dance as well, and we can help you get a lion dance blessing without breaking the bank. Here are some photos of some local businesses we performed for around Vancouver's Mount Pleasant area.
Small businesses are actually some of our favourites to perform for as they are more intimate. With fewer constraints and often without the corporate “stiffness”, we can have a lot of fun and interact with your staff and guests in a more playful way.
That being said, we’re also able to work with big brands and within the requests of management teams. With many years of experience and plenty of big names on our repertoire, any business looking for a lion dance performance is going to get an amazing experience with Chau Luen Athletics.
The ease of booking a lion dance with Chau Luen Athletics
We’ve been in the business of lion dancing in Vancouver for decades, but what sets us apart from many other kung fu and lion dance clubs is our booking system. We are known for our easy, personable, and customer-first booking process. We’ve worked with hundreds of businesses; everything from local businesses with less than 5 staff to companies that operate worldwide like Tiffany & Co., Salesforce, and EY.
Ask any of our clients—we are able to tailor performances to suit not only your space, but also your brand. For instance, we’ve performed through the tight confines of small restaurants, as well as performed a custom routine (with LED lions matching branding colours) for Gulf & Fraser.
If you’re interested in booking a lion dance, whether it’s for a new year celebration or to mark a special occasion for your business, reach out to our team using the link below and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Business lion dance FAQs
How far in advance should I book a lion dance for a business?
It depends on the reason for booking, but our Lunar New Year period (a week before to a month after Lunar New Year’s Day) is generally very busy. For performances in this period, we recommend booking at least four to five months in advance for the first pick of dates. For other times in the year, we may be preoccupied by wedding season or other holidays, so it’s best to book at least three months in advance.
Are lion dances only for Chinese New Year?
Businesses don’t solely order lion dances for Chinese New Year—new businesses often hire lion dancers to perform for their grand openings or for other milestone celebrations. With Chau Luen Athletics, you can also book us to teach lion dancing workshops to your staff!
How much will a lion dance cost?
Our prices depend on factors such as the demand at the time of the booking, the distance of the venue from our club, and the date of the performance. Book a call with our team—we will give a transparent and fair pricing based off of the information you give us.
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