STORY: Italian Kung Fu enthusiast's passion for dragon dance
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 6-8, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 13, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:46
LOCATION: FLORENCE, Italy
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Italian Kung Fu teacher Nicola Pastorino is performing
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
5. SOUNDBITE 1 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence

STORYLINE:

Mythological creatures, such as Loong, have a more complete, richer, and positive psychological value in traditional Chinese culture, said an Italian Kung Fu teacher who is the head of a Kung Fu School in Italy's Florence.

Nicola Pastorino's passion with martial arts began in the early 1980s, when he first traveled to the southern Chinese city of Foshan, which is famous for martial arts.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
"My name is Nicola Pastorino, and I'm a teacher of the Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence, which has been in existence since 1995. I teach traditional Kung Fu, including five different styles and traditional Chinese lion dance and dragon dance to my students."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
(In the 1980s), I went to study in a school in Foshan and we also studied dragon dance in the school of professionals. When I saw it, I fell in love with the art, the music, the choreography, and the philosophical content behind it, as well as the martial art itself. Then, I brought back this tradition of dragon dance and added it to the lion dance tradition that our master had already introduced. We began performing these traditions at all events and festivals. Both dragon and lion dances carry significant psychological, philosophical, and cultural content, making them not only physically demanding and beneficial sports to learn but also mentally enriching and fulfilling.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Italian): NICOLA PASTORINO, Teacher of Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
"When encountering these creatures in Italy, in Europe, in the West, they were often linked with negative forces, devilish forces, malevolent forces, dangerous creatures to be fought against. However, in Eastern culture, especially in China, these mythological creatures were attributed with an energetic aspect, thus giving it a more complete, richer, and positive psychological value. Therefore, the significance of the dragon figure for us is very important. It represents human energy, it represents Chinese culture, and it represents spirit. It embodies what a practitioner of Kung Fu generates and builds to evolve and improve in their pursuit, in their life."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): Teachers and students of the Traditional Kung Fu School of Florence
"Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy Chinese New Year)! Long Nian Da Ji (Best wishes to the Year of the Dragon)!"

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Florence, Italy.
(XHTV)