The rumbling drums, ringing cymbals and leaping dancers can be overwhelming for kids tasked with feeding red packets to the lions.
But loud noises are built into the tradition as a way to ward off bad spirits and bring good luck and fortune ahead of the Lunar New Year, which will be celebrated by a variety of East Asian and Southeast Asian communities on Tuesday.
"I've definitely made a couple of kids cry at Chinese restaurants," Da Hung Lion Dance and Kung Fu head coach Edison Chan told AAP in Sydney.
"It happens all the time and it's part of the experience.
"Have you made a kid cry yet? 'No I haven't'. Okay, then you haven't lion danced yet."
As the son of a sifu, a martial arts teacher, Chan has been lion dancing all his life.
In his earliest memories, he holds a blanket above his head as he jumps on little plastic steps, emulating the gao zhuang lion dancers who launch into flips from poles up to 2.8 metres high.
Most Chinese lion dances involve a pair - one as the head of the animal and the other acting as the rear - moving in time with the drums, doing partner lifts, operating the lion's facial expressions, and accepting red packets of `lucky money'.
Cai qing, which means picking the greens, involves lions approaching a lettuce suspended from a pole, "eating" the vegetable and spitting it out in a confetti of leaves.
Beginner dancers often find the move difficult as it involves keeping the lion's head upright and ripping up a densely-packed vegetable with their hands in a matter of seconds.
"It's pretty exhilarating because it's pretty go, go, go," Chan said.
"Once the music starts, it's on."
Though most well-known examples of lion dancing include feats of athletic prowess, Chan believes anyone with enough grit can become a performer with a year of training, while those not physically ready can contribute as a member of the music team.
But for dancers from Asia's diapora, the tradition means more than acrobatics.
"The most rewarding part is seeing everyone enjoy seeing our culture," Chan said.
"It's a link between us (Australian-born Chinese) to our family that is from China and the Chinese traditions we grew up with."
It's believed those born in the upcoming Year of the Horse will have a bold, independent nature, high intelligence, and a strong will to succeed.
Sydney's two-week celebration will centre around its historic Chinatown, where art, lights and performances will bring the streets to life.
Lunar New Year events are also slated to take place in other major cities including Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra.
After the anti-Semitic attack at Bondi Beach, an attempted bombing at an Invasion Day rally in Perth, and a violent police crackdown on protests in the harbour city, Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said there had never been a more important time to celebrate Australia's diversity.
"The Lunar New Year is the very opposite of what happened on Monday night," she said, referring to the clash between police and protesters.
"This is something that says we're a really diverse and inclusive community, and that's our strength.
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