Left picture: British singing and dancing performances during festivals have a strong mass base. China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Lin Jie/Photograph Middle picture: The singing and dancing characters of Ying are based on the heroes of Liangshan in "Water Margin". China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Lin Jie/Photograph on the right: The beautiful and sassy post-00s female singing group. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Chaoyang District Committee of Shantou City
The Spring Festival is approaching, and in the wave of returning home, there is a group of young people who are eager to return home. Their destination is Chaoshan, with the goal of rehearsing the program. They have already made appointments online and are rushing home to wear clothes. Put on costumes and facial makeup, and prepare to sing the leading role in the mighty English singing team.
The dance mallet flew up and down in the hand, and the roar of the drums resounded through the sky. The 5-year-old Xiao Qian led the Liangshan heroes down the mountain to investigate. In the plots such as "Raising the Troops to Fight", "Crossing Water" and "Triumph Return to the Mountain", the formations continued to change with the rhythm. In the Chaoshan area of Guangdong, there are English singing groups walking through the streets during festivals. It was in this lively cultural atmosphere that many children developed their admiration and love for English singing and dancing.
As a traditional folk activity, Yingge Dance integrates dance, Nanquan routines, and opera acting skills. It is said to have a history of hundreds of years and is deeply loved by people at home and abroad. It is one of the activities with the strongest "New Year flavor". In the eyes of Chaoshan people, Yingge and dance are the embodiment of heroes, which can dispel evil and strengthen righteousness, seek good fortune and avoid evil. With the appeal and vitality of combining "dance" and "martial arts", Ying Ge and Dance has gradually moved from ancient culture to modern squares, becoming a veritable "living fossil" of traditional culture.
As a national intangible cultural heritage, Yingge dance has exploded with great vitality in recent years, with countless "fans". Videos of various performances have been widely spread on online platforms. Many people have traveled thousands of miles to Chaoshan to watch it live, and some local governments have even invited The British singing group went to perform locally.
Chaoshan children’s dream of singing and dancing in English
Xu Chongyu, who was born in 2004, has a deep love for singing and dancing in English. When the allegro drum beat started, Xu Chongyu, who was only 5 years old at the time, immediately started shouting and picked up the Yingge mallet to imitate the movements and skills of turning the mallet. At that time, when he was young, his dream was to become a member of the British singing team. When he was 8 years old, he got his wish by putting on facial makeup and costumes, and had fun following the performance team.
“It was a very shocking feeling.” Xu Chongyu said that the performance by Shantou Chaoyang Pagoda British Chorus made him decide that this love is worth persisting in his life. After going to college, he brought English singing and dancing to Foshan, founded a English singing and dancing club in the school, and began to teach club members the knowledge of English singing and dancing he had learned over more than ten years. He said frankly that it was "not easy", but he hoped to put it into practice. The intangible cultural heritage culture of my hometown - English singing and dancing, has been carried forward, allowing it to go beyond Chaoshan and spread to more places.
Ma Zekai, a member of the Chaoyang Zhong Elite Chorus, said: "Most children in Chaoshan have dreams of singing in English." When he was a child, as long as he heard the voice of the English Chorus, he would immediately put down what he was doing and rush out to watch. Injuries are commonplace during the practice and performance of English singing and dancing. If partners need to "fight", they often accidentally knock each other.
From a beginner to becoming the “headbutt” in the team, Xiao Sixin said that as long as the drum sounds and the dance mallet hits, no matter how tired and painful it is, it will be gone. There was only one idea in my mind, and that was to jump up and dance, "for this, there is no turning back."
English singing and dancing embodies the cultural traditions of the Chaoshan region and contains profound cultural spirit and national mentality. British songs and dances are mostly performed by men and have the meaning of praising heroes. Nowadays, there are gradually more and more women in the English singing team, and there are even English singing teams born in the 2000s. There is another youthful and beautiful scenery on the road to inheriting intangible cultural heritage.
Yao Jiaxuan, who was born in 2004, is no stranger to British singing and dancing because she was influenced by her father’s performances of British singing and dancing since she was a child. At that time, because her height was not yet up to the standard to join the British Singing Team, she played basketball and badminton for a year or two, hoping to grow taller as quickly as possible through physical exercise and join the Women's British Singing Team as soon as possible.
The year after she became a member of the Ximen Women’s English Singing Team, Yao Jiaxuan injured her hand and required surgery.The coach encouraged her and said: "As long as you can still knock, come back and knock. I don't want to give up on any team member who loves Yingge and dance." This sentence ignited Yao Jiaxuan's confidence. She said that she "was in the ward but was training in Yingge" "On the court" and often watch live broadcasts of training. During the recovery period, she picked up the singing mallet again, and by swinging it slowly, the joint healed faster than expected.
Whenever her sister comes home from training, Zheng Shaofang will pester her to teach her how to play the Yingge mallet. Later, her sister simply signed her up and became a reserve member of the Ximen Women's English Singing Team. There are many examples of brothers and sisters learning English singing and dancing together among young people in Chaoshan.
Unlike the men’s singing team’s colorful facial makeup and rich and diverse costumes, the members of the women’s singing team have fresh makeup. Accompanied by bursts of drumming and whistles, the female members dressed as heroines walk lightly, The dancing figures constantly changed formations, shuttled and hit hammers, and their soft yet strong performances attracted bursts of cheers and applause.
Huang Yanchan, who was born in 2002, is the "headbutt" of this women's singing team and is also the oldest member of the team. She said that compared to the fierceness of men's songs, women's songs are soft yet strong, giving the audience a different feeling. 13-year-old Huang Wenyin is the youngest member of the British singing team. She is petite and has a childish face. She can show off tricks such as cartwheels and horseback tricks during her performances. Following her sisters in training and performing, Huang Wenyin enjoys simple happiness.
Bringing English singing and dancing to campus is the most effective inheritance
In the Chaoshan area, English singing and dancing demonstrates the vitality of Chaoshan traditional culture. In the opinion of many people, participating in English singing and dancing is good for physical fitness and can also train children's courage to face big scenes from an early age. Behind this is the love, persistence and inheritance of young English singing and dancing people. .
It is hard to imagine that a few young people who look a little introverted, after putting on facial makeup and costumes, they become the members of the British singing team with great momentum. "There is a kind of charm in Yingge and dance. When performing, we are completely two people." Yang Hongkai talked endlessly about his story with the Yingge team. He admitted that he studied Yingge and dance simply because he thought Yingge and dance were very handsome. Later, Yang Hongkai and other energetic young people who loved traditional culture spontaneously formed the Haojiang Lianxingying Chorus.
In the continuous innovation, Yingge Dance has transformed from the initial simple movements and single routines to complex movements, diverse routines and numerous formation changes. Each team has also modified the material and image of Yingge's costumes to bring better visual effects to the audience. They spend tens of thousands of yuan on costumes and props every year.
Chen Laifa, the leader of Jieyang Puning Nanshan Yingge Dance Troupe, has been engaged in Yingge and dance performance and training for nearly 50 years since he was 18 years old. He is the second batch of representative inheritors of the national intangible cultural heritage project Yingge (Puning Yingge). In his view, “the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage cannot only rely on a few inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, but also requires enough followers and fans, especially the younger generation.”
Chen Laifa and his team continue to promote the inheritance and innovation of Nanshan Yingge, allowing Yingge and dance to move from folk square dance to a wider stage. Starting from 2018, the team has brought English singing and dancing to the campus, using Nanshan Allegro English singing and dancing as a special education project, and looking for young fans on campus to train.
In recent years, activities such as "Intangible Cultural Heritage Enters the Campus" and "I am a Little Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage" have become highlights and brands of Shantou's intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance. Many British singing groups have entered campuses and villages under the call of the government , perform voluntarily and teach students to learn "English Song Exercises". British singing and dancing are becoming popular, and more people know about it, and young people are more willing to learn it.
The cultural department and education department of Chaoyang District, Shantou City jointly launched the "Chaoyang British Songs and Dances Entering the Campus" activity. The Chaoyang District Cultural Center formed a "pairing and cultivating" relationship with the school, and the school formulated a program for the inheritance of British songs and dances, and carried out "colorful" An English singing and dancing training activity on campus with the theme of "Intangible Cultural Heritage and Helping Double Reduction". Relevant departments believe that excellent traditional culture should be allowed to enter campuses as early as possible, and inheritance is the most effective protection.
Chaoshan Ying Song and Dance is strongly "out of the circle"
Ying Song and Dance can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. In 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.
Why did Yinggewu suddenly become popular? Weng Mushun, director of the Chaoyang District Cultural Center in Shantou City and director of the Chaoyang District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, said that British singing and dancing have always been "popular" in the Chaoshan area. As a folk art, English singing and dancing have a strong mass appeal and are an indispensable cultural activity during festivals in Chaoshan. In the past few years, due to some objective reasons, people have lacked enough spiritual entertainment, so they need a scene for emotional release. Yingge dance is inherently lively and prosperous, and it collides with festive festivals such as the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, which just caters to people's spiritual needs for a better life.
In the past, most English singing groups were amateur folk groups with a relatively scattered form. Most of their members were students, office workers, farmers, etc. They would only get together during folk activities, and there was little communication between different English singing groups. Now, Yingge Dance has received more attention and love from more people. Many Yingge singing groups have also gained a sense of collective honor and mission, and have begun to communicate with each other and discuss innovations.
At present, the British Singing Team is moving towards professionalization and commercialization, and performance invitations from all over the country are pouring in. Weng Mushun said that the huge cultural value and economic potential of Yingge Dance has attracted attention. The members of the traditional British singing team are highly mobile, which makes the inheritance of British singing and dancing more difficult. In his opinion, commercialization and professionalization are not a bad thing. As long as someone goes out of Chaoshan and performs in various places, it will promote and spread Chaoshan culture and British singing and dancing culture.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Lin Jie Source: China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily client
