Visitors and residents attending the annual Chinese New Year Celebration at the Aloha Tower Marketplace will be in for an unusual lion dance treat on Feb. 10. The special occasion marks the Year of The Rat — but it's the lions that could end up stealing the show.

The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association of Honolulu will be performing acrobatic pole-jumping routines — an Asian specialty not often seen in the Islands.

"It's kind of a rare thing here in Hawai'i," said Wah Ngai lion dance instructor Sherman Wong. "They have teams that do it all over Asia, but not many here can do that. It's pretty difficult. There's a lot of trust involved. And strength. It takes a lot of practice."

Melissa Chang, marketing manager at Aloha Tower, said the Chinese New Year crowd is generally a mix of Islanders and tourists, depending on whether or not a cruise ship has come in.

"Mostly it's usually local residents who come over from Chinatown, or else they're people who have come for dim sum at the Hong Kong Harbor View Restaurant. "We have the firecrackers near the tower, and the traditional lion dances around that.

"But then, we have the performance in the Center Atrium, where the lions are dancing on the poles. I think most people who come have seen the regular lion dances. But these guys, when they perform in the Center Atrium, they are on the poles. And not that many people have seen that."

The poles the lions bounce around on range from 5 to 7 feet high, with just enough room for a single "paw" at the top of each pole — meaning there's no room for error.

The lions' freestyle dance movements as they bound from pole to pole mimic the character of a playful beast, to the delight of the audience.

It's a superb combination of skill and theatrics that leaves spectators spellbound.

Following the pole-jumping performance, the lions move about the marketplace, warding off undesirable spirits with firecrackers and bringing good luck to anyone brave enough to place a monetary donation in the mouth of one of the huge-headed creatures.

As ever, the lions will visit participating shops in order to bestow luck on them in the new year.

"The lion is the symbol of good luck, which follows the lion everywhere it goes," said Wong, explaining the tradition. "If you hold out your hand with some money, the lion is drawn toward you. The good luck is brought to you."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.