Dongguan Dragon Dance
Dongguan Dragon Dance
Nominating Unit: Dalang Town, City of Dongguan
Dongguan Dragon Dance was allegedly originated in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Its first appearance was in the Dajingtou Village, Dalang Township of City of Dongguan, and has a history of more than 400 years. Now it is widely distributed among the hills and mountains in the whole city, including Putian, with Dalang, Chang’an, Houjie, Shilong township and Wancheng street being most active.
Dongguan Dragon Dance is rich in its presentation forms. The dragon props can be divided into fire dragon, dry wood dragon, straw dragon, etc., among which gauze dragon takes the lion’s share. The gauze dragon uses thin gauze for the dragon body, with gold or silver scale-like plastic pieces stitched on it, and are called gold dragon or silver dragon, which can last for as long as 100 meters. The performance has many acrobatic patterns, such as tortuous turns, folding, rising, prostrate lying, turning, bending, flipping, etc. There are also many routines, such as dragon encircling the pillar, gold dragon snatching the moon, dragon flying through the gate, dual dragon fighting for a pearl, rising dragon into the sky, flying dragon walking in the sky, dragon through mist and cloud, dragon playing water, dragon playing sand, dragon unfolding its tail, dragon crossing the bridge, dragon bowing to the Buddha, etc. There are also more than 50 types of movement sequences, such as dragon out of lair, dragon snatching a pearl, dragon carrying sword on back, dragon puffing, dragon tower, dragon hugging the pillar, yellow dragon roll, dragon upside down, dragon ride, etc.(https://www.daowen.com)
Dragon tower is a very unique pattern of Dongguan Dragon Dance. A dragon played by more than 100 people would follow a drifting pearl and slowly encircle itself into a layered tower with inner layers first, and then the outer layers. When the dragon head is closely enclosed by its body, the performers would dance and step on their fellow dancers’ shoulders, and lift the dragon head high up, in a looking-back and resting gesture. At this moment, an awesome dragon tower has been erected up from the ground and into the air, enticing people’s endless imaginations. The “super-high tower” is most spectacular.
Dongguan Dragon Dance combines dancing with music, paper sculpture and embroidery altogether, and embodies the spiritual pursuit of “heirs of dragon”. It is deeply loved by the locals, and is a valuable cultural heritage. However, Dongguan Dragon Dance experienced some exploitative destruction in recent years due to the changes in social life and cultural ecosystems, and has somewhat deviated from the tradition, losing it cultural connotation. This brings negative impact on the transmission of Dongguan Dragon Dance. Care and protective measures should be taken.