Li Changsheng – Representative Inheritor of  Yi Tiaogu Dance in Lvchun County, Honghe 

Li Changsheng is a representative inheritor of the Yi Ethnic Group’s Tiao Gu Dance (Jumping Drum Dance) in Niu Kong Township, Lvchun County, Honghe Prefecture.

As a provincial-level inheritor, he has made significant contributions to the inheritance and development of the Yi Tiao Gu Dance. In 2021, he was invited to Yunnan Arts University to conduct a week-long teaching and learning activity on the Yi “Planting Rice Drum Dance” for female students of the 2018 Performance Major and some postgraduate students in the School of Dance.

According to a report by Yi People’s Network in June 2024, Li Changsheng, then 61 years old and the leader of the Tiao Gu Art Troupe, was influenced by his aunt from a young age. Driven by his love for the dance and his hometown, after retiring from the military, he recorded the 36 sets of Tiao Gu Dance steps taught by his aunt in both Chinese and Yi languages, determined to continuously inherit and develop the dance. He also innovated by expanding from a single drum to multiple drums performing simultaneously, encouraging people of all ages in the village to participate, which has made the dance team larger and the performances more spectacular. So far, he has trained over 30 team members, including his youngest trainee—his grandson, who was born in 2005.