Chinese New Year...Dragon Dance. UCLA students practice Ancient Art!

On campus at UCLA last night, I came across an attentive group of Asian Students in the courtyard studying the ancient ritual of the Dragon Dance.

The Chinese have a long-held belief they are descendants of the dragon, a conviction which is firmly embedded in their customs and traditions.

On these shores (in our Western Culture) dragons are usually feared.

In China, however, the dragon is held in high esteem because of its fertility, supernatural power, vigilance and poise.

In fact, the dragon dance at Chinese New Year, symbolizes the bringing of good luck and success in the coming year for all human beings on earth.

In China, where the majority of people depend on agriculture for their livelihood, the timely arrival of rains is of utmost importance.

The legends say that the dragon dance was first performed as a means of making peace with the "Dragon King" so that he would release rain onto the drought stricken lands of the farmers.

In essence, Dragons are the governors of rain.

Dragon dances are also performed at New Year to scare away evil spirits.

During the dance the performers hold poles and raise and lower the Dragon.

I witnessed the young students painstakingly learning how to perform that task last evening under a cloudless star-lit sky.

Sometimes a participant attaches a "Pearl of Wisdom" to the pole - and then entices the Dragon to follow him to the beat of a drum - as if searching for wisdom and knowledge.

Maybe the students were in the early throes of staging the Dragon Dance, because this portion of the performance was not in evidence during the rehearsal I caught quietly from the sidelines.

Dragons used in the dances vary in length from a few metres to up to 100m long.

Longer Dragons are thought to be more lucky than shorter ones, though.

The dragon dances are performed during the day or night.

If night has fallen, a blazing torch will be carried to light the way.

In the actual ceremony - which I saw performed in old Chinatown in San Francisco during Chinese New Year a few months ago - a team of dancers carry an image of the dragon on poles.

The skilled dancers - lift, dip, thrust, and sweep the head - which may contain animated features controlled by a dancer and is sometimes rigged to blow out smoke from pyrotechnic devices.

In Frisco, firecrackers were also tossed into the street, which effected a theatrical quality to the performance that was electric!

The dance team mimics the supposed movements of the river spirit in a sinuous undulating manner, too.

Since the dragon dance is a highlight and a main focal point for the celebrations, great expense goes into fashioning the costumes so they are magical and beautiful in every facet of their creation.

The costumes used in these celebrations are usually made in specialty craft shops.

Often, they are imported at great cost, using funds raised through pledges at local cultural and business associations.