Li Shikai
Lineage & School of Heritage
At the age of twelve he began learning the lusheng dance from his father Li Zhage and his teacher Zhang Zha'er. After more than twenty years of study he has mastered eighty-three traditional routines of the lusheng dance and has developed more than twenty dances that imitate the forms of animals.
Mastery, Signature Works & Repertoire
He is a Lahu man born in July 1963 in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province. Deeply influenced since childhood by his family and by Lahu culture, he has a particular love for the lusheng dance. His movements are free and vivid, his portrayals strikingly lifelike, and his routines complete, giving him a distinctive personal style. He can sing the Lahu epic Mupa Mipa in its entirety. He has performed the lusheng dance on CCTV programmes including Xingguang Dadao (Avenue of Stars) and Minge Zhongguo (Folk Songs of China), and enjoys considerable visibility and influence.
Honors & Recognition
He is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Lahu Lusheng Dance, a national intangible cultural heritage project. He has more than forty apprentices and has run numerous training courses in the Lahu lusheng dance, reaching more than eight hundred trainees.
References & Archival Sources
Representative Items of This Bearer
- Lahuzulusheng Dance Ⅲ-79
Profile
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