Hire Us:
The Pak Mei Athletic Association has extensive experience in traditional lion dance and kung fu displays.

Our traditional Chinese performance arts will add that very special touch to any, Charity Fund Raising, Chinese New Year, Traditional Lion Dance Blessings for New Businesses, Weddings, Parties, Birthdays, Fetes and Community events and so forth...

Pak Mei Athletic Associations traditional Chinese lion dancing and kung fu / wu shu displays are available for hire. Our performances are creative, exciting and flexible and can cater for many different types of events, time schedules and special preferences.

Lion dance performances can range from between 10mins up to 40mins depending on the type of performance and of course as well as the style of greens put out for the lion. However, usually to get the best out of the performance it is usually best to keep the lion dance to approximately 20 minutes.

If would like to hire the our lion dance and kung fu team for various functions, whether that be a simple lion dance that is commonly seen in London’s Chinatown during the Chinese New Year festival to something more elaborate and extravagant, our extensive background and experience can tailor a performance to suit all needs and any event.

For more information of bookings, costs of hire and information on how we can help you please contact me.

The Pak Mei (White Eyebrow) Kung Fu and Lion Dance troupe like to wish everyone good luck, health and prosperity for the lunar New Year ahead.

Gung Xi Fa Cai (Kung Hei Fut Choi) – Happy New Year...!

Testimonials:
 
"What a great performance, after dealing with other Lion dance teams it was such a joy to come across Davids team at Pak Mei Athletic Association. Like true showman they cared to visit the location beforehand and were very informative in what is the correct ways to receive a Lion dance. My clients at ZTE were thrilled to have Dave's team help celebrate in the New Year with such tradition. Everyone was commenting on their agility in their movement, true Kung Fu masters at work"
Nic Tuft
Event Producer at Gorilla Marketing & Events Ltd.

23rd May 2012
Dear Dave and all at Pak Mei Athletic Association,
 
THANK YOU!
We here at the Children’s Heart Federation wanted to write to say a very big thank you for kindly supporting us by performing at our Dragon Boat Challenge event last Sunday. It was a crucial awareness and fundraising day for CHF, and you performing for us helped us to create a fun and lively interactive day for everyone, which we are truly grateful for. The children absolutely loved you and your show, and this can be seen in the photographs, which I will email through to you.
 
It was wonderful to meet you all and we would love to work with you again in the future.
 
Kindest Regards
Rebecca Holt
Family Information and Events Officer

Lion Dance FAQ’s

What is the purpose of lion dance?
To answer that please refers to the Story of the NIAN. Within that story you can draw the conclusion that lion dance was used to scare away the beast by 2 men disguised as a lion and also the noise created by the villagers banging on they're pots and pans. Lion dance is thus seen as cleansing your property or business of any evil or bad spirits for the forthcoming year.

What type of event is lion dance suitable for?
Lion dance is suitable for many types of events, all year round from birthday’s, wedding’s, anniversaries, business openings & merger’s as well as any type of festivities such as Moon-cake Festival and Chinese New Year.
 
How much space do you require to perform lion dance?
Depending on your budget and on the type of event the lion dance is for, we can create a bespoke performance tailored specifically to your event.
However, we do a lot of shows in restaurants where space can be very tight and we can adjust a performance to your venue.

What is the significance of the lettuce? 
During the performance, lion dance troupe perform the traditional custom of "cai qing in Mandarin, choi cheng in Cantonese", literally means "plucking the greens", a quest by the 'lion' to pluck the auspicious green normally 'vegetables' like lettuce which in Chinese called 'cai, meanings greens' that sounds like “fortune” and auspicious fruit like oranges tied to a "Red Envelope" containing money; either hung high from a window or just put on a chair/table or even in a bowl in front of the premises.

The "lion" will dance and approach the "green" and "red envelope" like a curious cat, to "eat the green" and "spit" it out to spread the fortune or even leave lettuce leaves and orange peel in a nice arrangement, like an auspicious character but the lion dance troupe keep the "red envelope". The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the troupe is rewarded with the "red envelope".

It is considered fortunate to be covered or hit by the greens, as you are considered to be covered in fortune for the forthcoming year.

Different types of vegetables, fruits, foods or utensils with auspicious and good symbolic meanings; for instance pineapples, pomelos (a type of grapefruit), bananas, oranges, sugar cane shoots, coconuts, beer/wine, clay pots or even live fish/crabs can be used to be the "greens" to be "plucked" to give different difficulty and challenge for the lion dance performers.

However, it is stressed that the difficulties of the challenge should come with the bigger the rewards of the "red envelope" given.

OK, I understand about the lettuce but I have seen other types of vegetables, fruit and even flowers used?
We commonly use Gum (Cantonese for Mandarin type oranges) Gum shares the same character and sound for gold, therefore laying out many oranges’ is like laying out lots of gold. This is particularly meaningful in a routine known as “4 seasons of prosperity” where the each orange represents a season; the lion will spit the oranges to spread gold for the forthcoming 4 seasons.

There are many types of routines that the lion can play such as the Snake Green where a stick is used to represent the snake’s body and 2 oranges the eyes and 2 daggers the fangs. Props can also be used in a performance a bench can represent a bridge, a table a mountain, typically in this type of routine the lion will search for the flower of immortality or Ling Zhi (type of Mushroom well known for its health giving properties).

As you can see there are many types of routine depending on the occasion, type of business and/or festivity, but the most important thing is that you should be able to see a story within the performance.

Should I provide the lettuce/oranges?
Yes, it is customary for the person requesting the lion to provide the iceberg/romaine lettuce, oranges and a red packet with a token amount of money inside.
 
Can the lion greet the guests as they arrive at the venue?
Yes this is commonly performed at business openings and weddings, guests will normally give the lion a Hong Bao or Lai See (red packet with money inside) as they are greeted by the lion.
 
I would really like the lion dance to be a surprise for my guests, are you able to achieve this?
Yes, as long as you inform us in advance and we can plan how best to surprise your guests with you and your event.
 
How far in advance can we book you?
We can take bookings up to a year in advance and have even taken performances on 72 hrs notice.
It is advisable that you book as soon as possible, as dates can go very quickly and we accept bookings on a first come basis especially around the week before and after Chinese New Year.
Please note that we require a 10% deposit to reserve a date.
 
How far in advance of show time do you arrive at the venue? 
On average 1 hour before so that we can look at the performance area, change and warm-up. During busy times such as Chinese New Year this may be decreased to 20 minutes before show time. We can arrive earlier at venues but is subject to agreement. 
 
What areas do you cover?
London, Nationwide & Europe.