The Northern Lion dance will normally perform in pairs with another person holding a ball for the pair of lions to chase after.  

The pair consists of a female and a male, differentiated by the color of fur on the head and back of each lion:  green for a female and red for a male, or in some cases by the color of the ribbon that is tied on the lions’ head.

Northern Lion dances exhibit vivid and lifelike behavior, very active, happy, and playful movements. In their performance, they will joyously and actively chase after the ball by leaping over tables, chairs, spinning themselves in 360 degrees and rolling over one and another.

The Southern Lion dance is also known as the Waking Lion. With the migration of Chinese people, many of whom migrated for Southern China and Hong Kong, the Southern Lion dance is now widely performed around the world.  It has become one of the most recognized traditional sports of the Chinese people.

The lion has a high forehead, curved lips and a very sharp horn on its head.

The Southern Cantonese lion style of dancing is very much focused on “The Horse Stance.”

This dance has similar expressions and lifelike behaviors to the Northern Lion during a dance.