How many kinds of traditional dances do you know？

　　"Singing tells the story, dancing tells the story". There are traces of dance origins in Lingnan, which can be traced back to three or four thousand years ago. The dancing pottery pieces found in the Shixia site in Maba Town, Qujiang, Shaoguan City in 1985 and the stone carvings and rock paintings found in the Treasure Cave in Baojingwan, Gaolan Island, Zhuhai in 1989 all prove that the local ancestors had the custom of dancing as early as the pre-Qin period.

　　There are also many traditional dances in Guangzhou’s rich intangible cultural heritage list. They either come from the fields or grow in the waves; Or beautiful, or thick Together with many other intangible cultural heritages, they form a kaleidoscope of life and paint a splendid spiritual picture. The origin of many traditional dances is related to agricultural society. Today, with the changes of urban and rural areas, the cultural ecology on which many traditional dances depend is changing rapidly. On the other hand, the emergence of some new technologies and new ways has also made many traditional dances that have never left the "small world" become the "new favorites" in the digital world, making people see the diversity of culture.

　　Fish lanterns, props of aquarium dance and octopus dance, are popular.

　　In recent years, with the spread of new media, one of the traditional dances in Guangzhou is Shui nationality dance. "Conghua Shuizu Dance, also known as’ Carp Dance’ or’ Fish Lantern Dance’, originated from Caotang Society in Longqiao Village, Conghua District. It has been more than 200 years since the reign of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty," Li Jianzhong, a representative inheritor of Conghua Shuizu Dance, a provincial intangible project, told reporters. "Every household in ancient times could weave props. At the beginning of the new year, everyone should take part in the team of’ dancing carp’. Due to historical reasons, it was once interrupted, and it was re-emphasized in the 1990 s, and it was passed down to today by the excavation and protection of cultural centers. "

　　Li Jianzhong said that the aquarium dance consists of three parts: making props, offering sacrifices to fish gods and swimming in fish dances. At first, people paraded around the village holding homemade carp props for blessing. Because they had to do farm work during the day, most of them chose to do it at night, so they put candles in the props, accompanied by gongs and drums and conch boats, paraded around the fish pond in front of the village, and then went through the village to perform. Li Jingquan, a scholar at the end of the Qing Dynasty, wrote two pairs of essays for this purpose: one is "grass carp go to the door, and fish jump in the pond"; The second is that "the carp jumps from the spring drum waves, and the fish swim at the beginning of the night."

　　Up to now, there have been four movements of Shui dance: "Fish swimming in spring water", "Fish frolicking with shrimp", "Fish leaping over the dragon gate" and "Fish rising with joy", and the performance lineup is even larger, with the roles of dragon ball, anchovy, big carp, small carp, shrimp soldier and crab general, and more than 60 people participated in the dance. The influence of the team is also constantly improving, and they can be seen in large and small activities from district level to national level. In May, 2022, the project of "Conghua Shuizu Dance" was included in the catalogue of "The Eighth Batch of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Projects in Guangdong Province".

　　Li Jianzhong introduced that in addition to the unique performance form, the Shui dance props are also deeply loved by the public, and they have entered the relevant cultural and archival institutions. Props are made from bamboo in the village, and then through a series of steps, such as weaving the skeleton, installing light belts, sealing rice paper, sealing light cloth, painting scales and finishing touches, a puffed carp can be completed. "Eyes are the charm of the whole carp, and it is necessary to paint with a sense of light to show its spirit!"

　　Under the guidance of Conghua District Cultural Center, Caotang Society’s "Conghua Shui Heritage Service Team" was formally established in April 2021. All the members came from the villagers in the village, ranging from 63 years old to 21 years old. Every Friday night, they organize rehearsals. At this time, not only the players, but also the villagers have a happy time.

　　It’s somewhat similar, and there’s the fish dance. Aoyu, people have given it a good meaning of academic progress, and at the same time, it is also the protector of fishermen. Aoyu Dance is a unique folk art in Panyu District, with a history of more than 600 years. As a kind of fish lantern dance, Aoyu dance has one male and one female, which shows the unique color of water town in the dance performance plot and props production.

　　"God beast" dance

　　Full of celebration and blessing for the bumper harvest.

　　Dance

　　Like a lion pouncing on a rabbit, a tiger steps into the wind.

　　"Guangzhou dances to see Zengcheng, and Zengcheng dances to see Paitan Jiasongling". Zhang’s "Dance Dance" in Jiasongling Village, which started in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, was listed as an intangible cultural heritage project in Guangdong Province as early as 2007. It is also a performance activity that local Hakkas hold on every happy occasion.

　　Dance pays attention to "the horse should be steady and the punch should be fierce, like a lion pouncing on a rabbit, and the tiger steps will give birth to the wind." In folklore, the animal is the ninth son of the dragon and a famous "lucky beast". When dancing, one person dances the head, two people dance the body and the tail, and the other two people play the Monkey King and the sand monk respectively. After performing some jumping and tumbling on the spot, with the accompaniment of gongs, drums and cymbals, the brave warrior and Friar Sand and the Monkey King performed the plot actions of worshiping the mountain, coming out of the mountain, teasing the monkey, picking green trees and returning to the mountain in sequence, showing a lively and peaceful atmosphere.

　　In recent years, with the support of all parties, there are two Guangzhou-level heritage bases and one Zengcheng-level heritage base, and there are high-level teachers composed of Guangdong-level inheritors Zhang Yongmu, Zengcheng-level inheritors Zhang Jingbin and Zhong Weihong. At present, the inheritance of dance is completely open, and it is very popular in schools. In 2023, there were more than 30 students enrolled in Paitan No.2 Primary School and as many as 60 students in Paitan Middle School.

　　kirin dance

　　Draw lessons from lion dance, martial arts and other movements

　　Another kind of "god beast" dance is the unicorn dance distributed in Huangge Town, Nansha District. It draws lessons from the movements and skills such as lion dance and martial arts in the Pearl River Delta. According to ancient legends, Kirin is shaped into the image of a benevolent beast with a dragon head, a lion’s body, antlers, sheep’s hoofs and oxtail, which is vivid and vivid. When dancing, there are specific artistic routines and dance skills, and the accompaniment music adopts rhythmic gongs and drums. It is still an important entertainment for local people.

　　Fire dragon dance

　　Become an online and offline carnival

　　"Dance faucet, no sorrow; Touch the dragon beard, step by step; Wear the dragon bottom, eye-catching; Not long ago, children in Qinghu Village, Junhe Street, Baiyun District were carrying lanterns and singing songs while walking through the streets. The fire dragon shuttled through the crowd, shining brilliantly.

　　The tradition of dancing dragon to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival bears the beautiful expectation of good weather, peaceful country and people’s safety. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival every year, people compete to see the fire dragon in Qinghe Street, Shima Village, Jianggao Zhenjiang Village, Baiyun Lake Xiamao Village and Da Lang Village. There are 25 dragon parades in Junhe Street alone this year. The "dragon" made of rattan and banyan leaves in each village is gathered in the archway and square, and the dragon dances wildly in the sound of firecrackers, which is shocking and vigorous. The dragon making ceremony and parade ceremony have become the carnival of countless people online and offline.

　　In Baiyun District, the fire dragon has become a unique cultural "IP". Huang Junying and He Baowen, Cantonese opera crosstalk performers, performed the original works of "Talking about the Ancient Fire Dragon"; Pop-up book’s production of the dragon, the Dragon Culture Theater, the VR experience of the dragon, the original hand-painted IP puppet of "Dragon King" and other interesting and interactive ways make people close to the dragon culture and love the local nostalgia.

　　Fire dog

　　Is it "nine" or "dog"?

　　The dance related to "fire" is not just dragon dance. Dancing the fire dog, also known as "Night on Mache", is a large-scale folk art activity popular in Mache Village of Zengcheng, with a history of more than 600 years. In fact, "Fire Dog" is not a dog, and its dance props include nine animal models made of bamboo sticks, such as dragon, phoenix, lion, unicorn, deer, rhinoceros, toad, precious duck and koi fish. The Cantonese dialect "Nine" is homophonic with "Dog", so people are used to calling it "Dance Fire Dog".

　　When dancing the fire dog, the incense on these props is lit, and the thick smoke emitted by the incense envelops the village in the misty mountains and seas, which is spectacular. The activity of dancing fire dogs not only contains the will to drive away plague and evil spirits, but also is full of celebration of bumper harvest and blessing for the coming year.

　　Hakka lion

　　The lion’s head looks like a cat.

　　Hakka lion, also known as head lion, Yi and Bian, has a cat-like head, which is popular among the Hakka people in Conghua. It is a kind of folk lion dance with a long history and is rare. On occasions such as New Year’s greetings and birthday celebrations, in Shuizhai, a village where Hakka people live in Conghua, people will beat gongs, drums and suona, set up a lion with a cat’s head, put on a mask and dance the lion in a flash.

　　The lion dance with a cat’s head is different from the general lion dance in its modeling, dance steps and drum music. The lion’s head is smaller than the general local lion’s head, with two bundles of lush wheat straw on its head, which is full of vitality.

　　"The honeysuckle fire tree, the dancing platform, the drama of fish dragons and dragons, and the skill of stepping on the swing are incomparable", which is a spectacular scene of festival dance on the land of Lingnan written by the ancients.

　　Today, similar scenes are still passed down among high-rise buildings and thousands of lights. (Text/Guangzhou Daily, all-media reporter Bu Songzhu/Li Jianzhong, provided by Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Center)