Maoshi dance lands on its feet in Hezhai village

The centuries-old Maoshi dance in Hezhai village, Yizhou, is in safe hands thanks to the passion and dedication of elderly locals keeping old customs alive and passing them on to the next generation.

Meng Guangxin, a retired government official from Yizhou, has organized several Maoshi workshops for Hezhai children since 2013. Today, Meng Guangxin is considered an expert of the dance who has inspired many others to take active steps in preserving their cultural heritage.

Maoshi dance, a variant of Lion dance, is performed in Hezhai village, Yizhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Qin Shiyong, Tang Qiongfang/Hechi Daily]

Maoshi dance is similar to the well-known Lion dance, but instead combines the lion movement with cat's movements to create a more playful and graceful performance. Each dancer wears a brightly colored costume featuring an enlarged headdress depicting a face which has elements of a cat and lion.

Hezhai village, where Maoshi dance has been performed for hundreds of years, has a long history of dynamic and acrobatic art. Traditionally, these customs would be passed down by word of mouth, but in more recent years this practice has become less popular.

To combat this, Meng Guangxin, along with Meng Chengshun, 69, and Meng Kaisheng, 63, have given new life to the dance by making sure the younger generation gets not just to see, but also take part in it as well.

Experienced Maoshi dance performers teach young students basic movements of the traditional folk art. [Photo by Qin Shiyong, Tang Qiongfang/Hechi Daily]

Stirred by an in-built passion for their own culture and identity, many parents immediately enrolled their children in the training sessions as soon as they were announced.

"I've watched the dance since I was a little kid," said one parent. "I believe it's good to my child to learn the folk art too."