A KUNG Fu school which provides dancers for Liverpool’s Chinese New Year celebrations is asking for volunteers to be part of its “dragon”.

Hung Gar Kung Fu was set up by Master Jimmy Chan, in Seel Street, in the mid 1970s, before moving to its current home in Chinatown.

For more than 30 years, it has been a vital part of Chinese New Year celebrations.

But for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit, which will be celebrated in February, they want to extend participation to the wider community and will be giving a series of lessons at St George’s Hall for anyone who wants to be part of the £20,000, 70ft dragon.

Organiser Steve Ornellas, 47, of Allerton, has dragon danced for 32 years.

He said: “We were given this dragon five years ago by the people of Shanghai. It was an amazing gift which we got because we are twinned with the city. It is not mine – it belongs to the Chinese Quarter.”

Steve, who has 150 students, said: “It takes a lot of people to make the dragon dance.

“You need at least 60 volunteers because you get tired quickly and have to swap over a lot.

“We could do it ourselves but it takes my students away from other things like lion dancing, martial arts demonstrations, crowd control and providing refreshments.

“But I thought becoming a dragon would be a great opportunity for people who would normally just watch Chinese New Year to join in with it.”

Steve, who is known as “sifu”, a cross between “teacher” and “father”, said: “You need to be quite fit, but not massively so.

“We will train at St George’s Hall for 90 minutes on January 9, 16 and 23 in preparation for Chinese New Year on February 3.”

If you are interested in becoming a dragon dancer, meet at Hung Gar Kung Fu club, at 21-27, Bridport Street at 11.30am on Sunday, January 9. Alternatively, go to liverpoolkungfu.com or call Steve on 0794 451 6970.