Upcoming Workshop
Theatre du Pif
Open Classroom
4 sessions of Cantonese Opera Movement for Everybody (C O M E) workshop in Nov-Dec 2026 @Fo Tan
Cantonese Opera Movement
for Everybody (C O M E) workshop
“Ma Dang Zi”- the Horse Riding Sequence
Each session includes:
1) Cantonese Opera fundamentals — body preparation at the barre
2) Performance in space — the technique of walk, turn, and body alignments
3) Repose
4) Picking up your props — finding comfort and pleasure in using your whip and tassel spear
5) Practise and building up the “Ma Dang Zi*”movement sequence which is approximately 2’30” long:
a finely forged combination structure that activates the performers’ imagination, stamina, and presence.
No experience required. If you’d like to stretch, move and experience a complete dance of a renowned Cantonese Opera performance sequence, you’re welcome to join!
* What is “Ma Dang Zi” (馬盪子) ?
In Cantonese Opera, “Ma Dang Zi” is a movement performance that uses a whip to express riding a horse, combining set movements (功架) with dance-like gestures (舞姿).
Cantonese Opera performers blend the smooth, flowing body movement techniques of the Northern style with Southern-style martial arts skills from Guangdong, creating a distinctive performance style: fast-paced rhythm and a strong choreographic structure. The sequence has its early forms dating back to the Qing dynasty, and the stage version we see today was refined and set around 1920.
