CADCAI Lion Dance Team (Cairns & District Chinese Association Inc)

About

CADCAI (Cairns & District Chinese Association Inc) is the community arts and heritage organisation that operates Cairns's only active lion dance team. Founded in 1978 and incorporated in 1986, CADCAI is a registered DGR charity and custodian of the nationally significant Cairns Lit Sung Temple collection — artefacts from the Chinese temple that operated in Cairns from 1887 to 1966. The region's lion dance tradition is traced to 1876, when Chinese settlers first arrived, making CADCAI's lion tradition one of the oldest in regional Australia. The youth-focused lion dance team trains every Friday during school term at Balaclava State School, while a separate adult dragon dance team learns the Fuzhou style. The team performs at the annual Cairns Chinese Lunar Year Festival (up to 20,000 visitors over 15 days) and has travelled as far as Townsville for performances.

Performance Details