Sepcial Report: Spring Festival Special 2009

    YANGON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar-Chinese residing in the Chinatown area in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon will hold the fourth traditional lion dance competitions during the forthcoming lunar new year, an event organizer told Xinhua Friday, two days ahead of the fall of Chinese Spring Festival.

    Scheduled to take place in the heart of Chinatown, the series of lion dance competitions will be participated by ten amateur lion dancing groups of local Myanmar-Chinese and the contests will last for four consecutive nights starting this weekend, the eve of the traditional festival, said Zhou Baofu, who is a native of China's Guangdong Province.

    These groups include Sky Lion, Golden Lion, Youth Silver Lion, Ever Shine Lion and Dragon Lion, he said.

    The first and second prize-winning dancing groups will repeat their wonderful performances to the satisfaction of the audiences on Jan. 30 when the prize presentation ceremony is to be held to mark the end of the event, he disclosed.

    The southern-style lion dance competitions will be part of the rare activities of the Myanmar-Chinese in celebration of the traditional Chinese new year or spring festival and joined by dancing groups of younger generations, he highlighted.

    He anticipated that such lion dance activities could be inherited generation by generation, noting that by sponsoring such activities, it can give rise to outstanding lion dancing teams to take part in international events to win pride for both Myanmar and Myanmar-Chinese.

    During last year's third such competitions, six other lion dancing groups -- Y.S.L, Global Lion, Dragon, Lion Boy, Pearl Black and the Last Don participated for contest, of which the Last Don won the first prize.