This Society is currently dormant. If you would be interested in re-starting this Society, please drop us an email on societies@qub.ac.uk

At Queen’s Chinese lion dance society, we strive to share the Chinese martial art known as Hung Fut and the Chinese Dragon and Lion Dances with everyone who is interested, regardless of race, religion, gender or culture. Everyone is welcome to take part in this multi-disciplinary activity. Members can also choose to learn the traditional music that accompanies the lion dance as well as the dance itself and martial arts.

Through the lion dance we reached out to the people of Belfast and even Northern Ireland from all backgrounds and age groups. The lion dance, not only entertained our audiences, but brought a wide range of benefits to their experiences. The large Chinese community were able to view a taste of their own culture here in Northern Ireland, thus helping to preserve that culture for them. The local audiences got to experience the Chinese culture through the lion dance and martial arts. For some of those people, it was their first encounter with the Chinese community and indeed any ethnic minority. These experiences were especially beneficial to the young people that we performed for. All of these work towards a more diverse and accepting Northern Ireland, reaching from the new generation to the oldest generation.

We also aim to enhance the student experience within the Queen’s community. Performances done on campus brought new colours to the Students’ Union. These demonstrations allowed Queen’s students to know what was available to them, encouraging them to take part in such cross community societies. Not only this, but the lion dance performance is an exciting thing to watch and thoroughly entertained its audience.

During the Chinese New Year period, we make appearances at many parties and celebrations, including Chinese New Year celebrations in Derry, Balleymena and in Ulster Hall etc. We hope to continue performing and fundraising to create better facility for our members. Not only this, during other time, we were invited to perform and we participated in various multicultural events, such as Cultural Share Festival and St Patrick’s Day Parade in Downpatrick, etc. These activities enhanced and enriched the experience from both lion dance members’ and the audiences’ sides.

Our members were all invited to travel to Hong Kong during the summer to perform lion dance and martial arts. This was a great opportunity for them to watch and learn lion dance and martial arts from where it originated and also they could experience the culture behind the discipline.

To join the society could not be easier:
• Register with us at our stall at Freshers’ Fair or simply register at our trainings on Sunday nights at Snack Bar, SU (7-9pm);
• The annual membership fee is £3.00 for all registered students of Queen’s University at Freshers’ Fair or £5.00 during term time. £10 for Associate Student Membership (eg. Students currently studying in other institutions apart from Queen’s University). £15.00 for associate membership from the public (eg. Non-students, academic staff, union staff etc.).