Promoting Lion Dance as an Intangible Cultural Heritage via Education in Lingnan, China

The Lingnan’s Awakening Lion Dance is an important cultural heritage originating in Foshan, Guangdong province, China. Recently, training of lion dance students has gone through a dramatic change from the traditional master-apprentice model to vocational school training by specialist instructors. Through an in-depth investigation of a particular school’s teaching approach, this study has found that the practical-oriented program is not only popular with students, but it also allows students to understand and appreciate the culture and history of the lion dance. At the same time, as the dance is a group sport, it can help inculcate within students the values of team spirit, unity, hardship endurance and mutual tolerance. Institutional training of lion dance has enhanced its professionalism and the overall quality of students. As an intangible cultural heritage, lion dance has also been incorporated as part of the heritage tourism with public performances in festive events and celebration occasions.