As the Chinese New Year approaches, the Chinese Warrior Dance (Yingge dance) is set to go overseas once again! This year, Guangdong will organize a team of Yingge dance performers to visit Germany and France to participate in the Chinese New Year events, which is sure to spark another wave of Lingnan culture in Europe. The Yingge team preparing for this trip is currently working intensively on their preparations. Recently, reporters visited Chaoyang in Shantou to check on the preparations for this cultural exchange.

Cahoyang Yingge dance is one of the first representative list of China's national intangible cultural heritage items. It combines martial arts, drama, and dance, with movements that are both powerful and graceful, full of passion and energy. In recent years, Yingge dance has continued to gain recognition both domestically and internationally, becoming a top-tier cultural heritage attraction.

The day the reporter visited coincided with an important local event in Chaoshan. At the landmark ancestral hall in Chaoyang, several Yingge teams gathered, taking turns to showcase their best performances. The Ximen Yingge team, which is set to perform overseas, was part of the lineup.

"This is our first time being officially invited to perform in Europe! We are both excited and full of anticipation," said Wu Yanhua, the assistant coach of the Ximen Yingge team, unable to hide her excitement about the upcoming international performances.

She said that, in preparation for this overseas performance, the Yingge team has been intensively rehearsing for two months. "The team we've selected includes both male and female performers, totaling 25 members, and each one is a 'highly skilled and elite performer.'"

Chen Tanpeng, the coach of the Ximen Yingge team, told the journalist that the Yingge team is from the Ximen community in Chaoyang's Wenguang Street. The team includes both a male and a female group, with nearly 200 male performers and over 70 female performers.

"For this overseas performance, we will present a 'male and female duet fight' to showcase that what men can do, women can do as well," said Chen Tanpeng. The "male and female Yingge duet fight" was a concept he pioneered in December 

2022. At that time, he first integrated male and female performers in the choreography, and it was debuted during the 2023 Chinese New Year celebrations, leaving the audience in awe.

"Looking at the male Yingge alone, it is robust and bold, while the female Yingge is soft yet strong. When combined, the performance must retain the masculinity of the male dancers while also highlighting the feminine beauty of the female dancers. This requires a high level of coordination among the performers. We have made thorough preparations, and we are confident about our upcoming performance in Europe," Chen Tanpeng expressed with great confidence about the overseas performance.

The Yingge dancers in the team moved with strong, confident steps, exuding power and presence. Most of this impressive team is made up of teenagers.

Seventeen-year-old Yao Guangpeng, a member of the team, plays the role of "Wu Song" and is about to experience his first overseas performance. He told the reporter that, typically, the Yingge team trains on Friday and Saturday evenings. However, in preparation for this performance, they have been training every evening for seven days a week, with additional practice sessions sometimes held during the day on weekends.

"I'm excited just thinking about being able to share the Yingge dance, something I love, and spread Chao Yang's intangible cultural heritage even further, letting people overseas see this traditional culture," Yao Guangpeng said enthusiastically. "We'll be performing under the Arc de Triomphe, and I can't wait to take photos and post them on my social media in front of the Eiffel Tower!"

Source: Lingnan On the Cloud

广东英歌儿女赴德法展演过大年，精彩抢先看

新春将至，“中华战舞”又将“出海”！今年，广东将组织英歌队赴德国、法国参加“欢乐春节”活动，必将在欧洲再掀一波岭南文化热潮。此次即将出访德法的英歌队正紧锣密鼓地筹备着。近日，记者来到汕头潮阳，探班此次英歌出海的筹备现场。

潮阳英歌舞，是中国第一批国家级非物质文化遗产代表性项目，集武术、戏剧、舞蹈于一身，舞姿刚柔并济，热情奔放。近年来，英歌舞持续“出圈出海”，跻身非遗“顶流”。

记者探班的这一天，正好是潮汕地区的群众送“老爷朝天”的重要日子。在潮阳的地标——双忠行祠门口，汇集了数支英歌队，他们轮番上阵，炫出看家本领。即将出海亮相的西门英歌队就在表演队列之中。

“这是我们第一次受官方的邀请到欧洲去演出！我们既开心又期待。”谈及将赴欧洲演出，西门英歌队副教练吴燕花抑制不住内心的兴奋之情。

据她介绍，为备战此次出国演出，英歌队已经加紧排练了两个月。“我们这次选派的队员有男生有女生，加起来共25位，个个都是‘精兵强将’。”

西门英歌队教练陈坍鹏告诉记者，英歌队属于潮阳文光街道的西门社区，既有男子队也有女子队，其中男子队将近200人，女子队有70余人。

“这次出国演出我们以‘男女对打’的形式出场亮相，让更多人知道男生能做到的，女生也能做到。”陈坍鹏说，“男女英歌对打”是自己在2022年12月的首创。当时，他首次将男子和女子队员融合编排，并在2023年春节期间首度献演，惊艳四座。

“单看男子英歌，它是粗壮豪放的，女子英歌则是柔中带刚的，二者融合在一起表演，既要不失男子气概，还要展现女子美的一面。这需要队员们极高的配合默契度，我们也作了充分的准备，可以期待一下我们在欧洲的表演。”陈坍鹏对此次的出国演出信心满满。

行进队伍中的英歌队员个个步伐矫健，威风堂堂，其实，这支霸气的队伍是由十几岁的少年少女组成。

17岁的西门英歌队队员姚光蓬是队内的“武松”扮演者，即将迎来自己人生第一次出国演出。他告诉记者，平时英歌队都在周五周六的晚上训练，但为了准备这次出国演出，一周七天，每天晚上都会训练，有时还会在周末的白天加练。

“能把自己热爱的英歌舞、把潮阳非遗传播得更远，让国外友人看到这项传统文化，想想都觉得兴奋。”姚光蓬激动地说，“我们会在凯旋门下表演，也很期待到时候能在巴黎铁塔打卡拍照发朋友圈！”

文｜记者 周欣怡 文艺 赵映光 通讯员 粤文旅宣
图｜记者 钟振彬 蔡嘉鸿
统筹｜朱绍杰 麦宇恒
翻译｜林佳岱
译审｜赵凡