Yang Zaixian

Also known as Stage name Xiao Hongxie

Yang Zaixian, of Huaiyuan, Anhui, was born in 1922 and performed as Xiao Hongxie, Little Red Shoes. At thirteen he learned the lanhua (female-role) dance from the Bengbu flower-drum lantern veteran Shi Laoqi, and at fourteen he began dancing in lantern troupes. His art rested on fine, nimble footwork and graceful carriage, absorbed local folk dance and was summed up as lively, playful and crisp; in lantern songs he worked in tunes from Huaibei local opera, and his signature piece Looking for the Hen was adapted from the Huaibei flower-drum opera Granny Wang Scolds the Hen. His pupils included Shi Chuncai. He was named a national-level representative bearer of the flower-drum lantern (Bengbu) intangible heritage and died in November 2010.