On the morning of October 9th, the 2024 Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritors Training Program for Tujia Hand-Waving Dance commenced at the Academic Exchange Center of SCMU. This program is jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, guided by the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and hosted by SCMU. The School of Continuing Education and the School of Music and Dance are responsible for its implementation.
Hu Shuangxi, a researcher from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division of Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Qin Rui, Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of SCMU, heads of the organizing units, and 29 inheritors and enthusiasts attended the opening ceremony. Ma Li, Party Secretary and Dean of the School of Continuing Education, presided over the ceremony.
Opening ceremony. Photo by Zhu Ran
In his welcome speech, Qin Rui highlighted that SCMU has actively participated in the “Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritors Training Program”, successfully hosting 10 training sessions covering various projects such as paper-cutting, lacquer art, Xilankapu (Tujia Brocade), and Saye’erhe dance of Tujia Minority, training a total of 359 participants. He expressed three hopes for the trainees: First, to raise awareness and earnestly implement the new deployments and requirements for inheriting excellent Chinese traditional culture as set out by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Second, to adhere to the main theme of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, developing an accurate understanding of history, ethnicity, country, and culture, and continuously consolidating and strengthening the “five identifications”. Third, to take practical measures for tangible results, strengthen exchange and mutual learning, and effectively improve intangible heritage skills, cultural and artistic cultivation, and personal comprehensive qualities.
Hu Shuangxi introduced Hubei Province’s achievements in intangible cultural heritage protection and the background of this training project. He hoped that the university would continue to leverage its unique advantages, optimize curriculum design, carefully arrange teaching and organizational management, and provide quality services to ensure the smooth progress of all training activities. He urged the trainees to fully recognize the importance of inheritor training, vigorously promote ethnic culture, strengthen cultural confidence, cherish this valuable learning opportunity, and apply their knowledge to let more people experience the unique charm of the hand-waving dance and master its basic techniques, thus making greater contributions to the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.
This training course emphasizes the combination of theory and practice, carefully designing four modules, including general cultural knowledge, basic dance theory and skills, practical investigation, and creative showcase. Through special lectures, on-site teaching, interactive discussions, and field training, it provides participants with an in-depth learning and exchange platform to further promote the inheritance and development of Tujia hand-waving dance.
