Performer in head of Chinese lion critically injured in tumble

A performer playing the head in a Chinese lion costume was seriously injured after falling during rehearsal.

Paramedics rush to the aid of the unconscious nineteen-year-old at Sydney's Haymarket, as horrified colleagues and friends watched on.

"What's basically happened is he's part of a Chinese Lion Troupe, and during the course of practice for something they had planned for the next day or so, he's sustained the injury and fallen heavily to the ground," Inspector Stewart Leggat said.

"He sustained injuries to his chin and to his head."

The martial arts performer is a member of the Chinese Youth League of Australia. 

He was rehearsing his role - holding up the head of a Lion costume - when he slipped from the shoulders of a fellow performer.

"The actions of his colleagues and the emergency services personnel that attended shortly after the incident have basically saved this individual's life," police said.

Security cameras outside the dance centre captured the emergency response as crowds left stunned by the drama. 

His mother, friends and family were by his bedside at St Vincent's Hospital tonight, where his condition was downgraded from critical to serious but stable.