Dragon or lion dances are a familiar sight at festive celebrations across China, a performance believed to bring good luck. 

Now, you can see it in the gyms of a university in east China's Zhejiang Province, as part of a new class focused on the traditional sport while promoting Chinese culture at the same time.

According to Qianjiang Evening News, the dragon and lion dances were introduced last month at Zhejiang University, attracting more than 170 students from different majors.

Many class attendees fell in love with the dances immediately. 

Junior Xu Jingyan said “At first, I was only looking for a class [that was] different and fun. After I took it, I was surprised to find that we have well-equipped props, and the movement is just like the dragon dance I saw on TV."

Jiang Kai, a graduate of Beijing Sport University, teaches the class and talked about the lack of interest in the traditional sport, “More than 30 people joined my university’s dragon and lion dance team, but only eight stayed till graduation. Because we had a lot of competitions, and many could not bear the hardships and quit. Now, we are less popular than Tai Chi class. After all, it is a traditional sport, not as fashionable as tennis or golf.”

Jiang emphasized how the dance is a true test of cooperation. “It takes at least ten people to perform a dragon dance, and two for a lion dance. If anyone does not show up at class, other people will be affected.”

Even though the dragon and lion dances are not a mainstream sport in China, dozens universities have been organizing contests and training dancers and instructors since 2003 to try to promote the traditional sport.