The 12th China Art Festival got underway in Shanghai on May 20 and a Guangzhou folk dance drama was staged at Shanghai Oriental Art Center on May 26 and 27 to compete for a Wenhua Award.

The dance drama integrates lion dance and other symbolic elements of Lingnan culture. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

Awakening Lion is a drama dance created by Guangzhou Song and Dance Theater. With the Opium War, which happened more than a hundred years ago, as the background of the story, the dance drama reaches its climax with the Sanyuanli anti-British uprising. The show's story focuses on the national awakening spurred by the Opium War, while telling a story of the self-awareness and transformation of lion dancers in the face of love and hate, as well as the different life choices that their families and the country face. It reflects the indomitable spirit of Guangdong's youth. 

It combines the lion dance and other representative symbols of Lingnan culture, integrating both traditional and modern arts. Since premiering at Guangzhou Grand Theater last September, Awakening Lion has won the "Dance Drama Award" at the 11th Lotus Awards, the highest dance awards in China, in 2018. 

A stage photo of Awakening Lion. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

The Wenhua Awards is the highest prize for professional arts established by the Ministry of Culture and is presented every three years. This year's Wenhua Awards has a total of 38 entries, which are divided into four categories, including drama dance and opera dance.

The story uses the Opium War, which happened more than a hundred years ago, as its backdrop. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]