Lion dance troupes struggle to recruit members

Demand for lion dance performances has gone up by about 30 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic years.

With many lion dance troupes struggling to recruit new members, they have had to turn down nearly a fifth of booking enquiries this month.

He Xin Lion Dragon Arts Troupe has seen requests for its services increase by 30 per cent this year, compared to the same period before COVID 19 struck.

The troupe's founder Bernard Tan said customers wanted to get back some of the Chinese New Year feeling after the flu, with some engaging lion dance performances for the first time.

He added that the troupe could only fulfill a quarter of booking enquiries for the first day of the Chinese New Year. There are more, but we are unable to cope with the bookings because we don't have enough manpower. Mr Tan has increased his wages by nearly 30 per cent this year, just to make sure his members can deliver the confirmed performances.

He said we want to let our members know that we are trying hard. We have to understand, because most of us have full-time jobs. Lion dance troupes have to work around tight budgets.

Mervyn Neo, a coach at Times Cultural Arts, said that its funds are mostly used for expenses such as props, attire, and rental space.

He said that we don't really earn a lot from the Chinese New Year period.