China News Service, Hefei, August 1st Title: Four generations of artists inherit the flower-drum lantern "Huaipan Orchid" and charm overseas
Author Zhang Qiang and Zhang Xiaoqian
China's national intangible cultural heritage representative project Huagu Lantern (Fengtai Flower Drum Lantern) National-level representative inheritors Deng Hong and Zhang Shigen have been a little busy recently - guiding the actors of the Huagudeng Art Troupe of Fengtai County, Anhui Province to rehearse the Huagudeng dance "Happiness Express" in order to participate in the "2024 China Top Dancer Growth Plan" national production Prepare for the show.
For thousands of years, the music, dance and rhythm of Huagudeng have relatively completely preserved the memories of the people's life, labor and customs in the Huaihe River. It is known as "Orchid on the Bank of the Huaihe River" and "Oriental Ballet" reputation.
Fengtai Flower Drum Lantern is an important genre in Anhui Flower Drum Lantern, which originated in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It has more than 400 vocabulary words and more than 50 basic steps. Among them, the typical movement "three bends" emphasizes the twisting of the waist, which is very characteristic and charming of oriental dance.
Deng Hong introduced that although there are flower drum lanterns in Huainan Fengtai, Bengbu Huaiyuan, Fuyang Yingshang and other places, they are different in terms of performance forms, movements, and performance styles. For example, Fengtai flower-gu lanterns use gongs as the leader, while Huaiyuan flower-gu lanterns use drums as the leader.
Deng Hong and Zhang Shigen both started learning Huagu Deng at the age of 13. They have danced Huagu Deng all their lives and performed together all their lives. They are known in the industry as the "Chief of Huagu Deng". Zhang Shigen said with a smile: "I am still performing on stage at my age."
Visiting teachers in schools, first-line stage performances, general directors of art troupe competitions... Deng Hong and Zhang Shigen, who are in their 60s, are as busy as ever after their retirement. Under their leadership, four generations of flower drum lantern artists share the same stage and inherit the flower drum lantern.
Deng Hong said that the Fengtai Flower Drum Lantern is a treasure passed down from generation to generation. As long as it can still dance, she will pass on this art to let more children like and learn it.
In order to solve the problem of lack of successors of Fengtai Huagu Deng, Fengtai County established Fengtai County Huagu Deng Art Troupe and Fengtai County Huagu Deng Art Vocational Technical School, which mainly teaches Huagu Deng art. Up to now, Fengtai County Huagudeng Art Vocational School has trained nearly 3,000 students.
Wang Limei, principal of Fengtai County Huagudeng Art Vocational School and leader of Fengtai County Huagudeng Art Troupe, said that the art troupe currently has more than 50 people, with an average age of 22 years old. Nowadays, all walks of life are paying more and more attention to traditional culture. With the integrated development of culture and tourism, many tourist attractions are lacking actors, and the Fengtai Flower Drum Lantern performance market is on the rise.
"In recent years, on the basis of retaining the traditional elements of flower drum lanterns, we have sought inspiration from real life and created a number of new works such as "Red Hydrangea in Hometown", "August Osmanthus" and "Happiness Express"." Wang Limei said, The actors in "Happiness Express" are mainly young people. The dance uses the autumn harvest on the bank of the Huaihe River in the new era as the story background to show the earth-shaking changes that have taken place in the lives of Fengtai people. Flower drum lanterns and props and umbrellas are used to represent different scenes.
Li Lei, director of Fengtai County Cultural Center, was also an outstanding flower drum lantern artist before. He introduced that over the years, Fengtai County has protected and supported the development of Huagu Deng artists through projects, funds, etc.; it has compiled Huagu Deng teaching materials and built a Huagu Deng protection and inheritance base; every year, the Fengtai County government allocates 3 million yuan to rewards Huagudeng actor who has won awards in national and provincial competitions.
According to reports, since its establishment, Fengtai County Huagudeng Art Vocational School has visited more than 30 countries and regions to perform in the United States, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2022, Fengtai County Huagudeng Art Troupe will become an international exchange and cooperation base in Anhui Province. Wang Limei said: "When we performed in France, the UK and other European countries, we performed flower drum and lantern dances with gongs, drums and suonas, and foreign friends used rock instruments to play for us. It felt very harmonious." (End)
