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Chinese Qilin "Unicorn" Dance

The Qilin Dance, also spelled as "Kirin," is a traditional Chinese cultural performance created by the Hakka people, who originated from northern Guangdong and Jiangxi, and later moved to Hong Kong. Historically, the focus of the Qilin dance lies in displaying respect for others and the mix of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism within Chinese culture. The Qilin is a mythical creature believed to symbolize good fortune, prosperity, and harmony. During the dance, performers wear ornate Qilin costumes featuring vibrant colors and intricate details, closely resembling the mythical creature. The Qilin costume features a single horn in the middle (likely why is it referred to as the "Unicorn" in the west), accompanied with finned ridges lined with fur. The dance involves graceful and synchronized movements mimicking cats and tigers, such as head shaking, tail wagging, and playing. Qilin routines involve martial arts to display its guardian nature, like how Qilin statues are often found at the gates of temples and homes. The routine itself typically tells a story of a Qilin exiting its "hole", circling its head, playing with its tail, looking for the vegetable, inspecting/ toying with the vegetable, kicking and breaking the vegetable, eating the vegetable, getting drunk from the vegetable, spitting out the vegetable, beating the sand, spitting out the jade book, visiting the garden, and finally returning back to its "hole". Accompanying the dance is the Qilin routine music play using traditional Chinese instruments, including drums, flutes, and cymbals. Historically, the dance was performed during festivals and good harvests. Today, similar to the Chinese Lion and Dragon dances, the Qilin dance is commonly performed during important Chinese celebrations and festivals, such as Chinese New Year and weddings . Another reason for performing this dance is for the community to preserve cultural traditions and to offer communal support and strengthen social connections.