Hong Kong Cantonese Opera
FILE - In this March 7, 2006 file photo, Cantonese opera performers showcase their years of training in delicate gestures in front of an elaborate st...
FILE - In this March 7, 2006 file photo, Cantonese opera performers showcase their years of training in delicate gestures in front of an elaborate stage set during a performance at a makeshift theatre, facing the audience behind the bright red stage curtain in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Academy for Performing Arts said in a statement Monday, May 16, 2011, the school will start offering a bachelor's program in Cantonese Opera in September 2013, in the latest effort to preserve the traditional southern Chinese art form that the United Nations has designated a key cultural heritage. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Hong Kong Cantonese Opera
FILE - In this March 7, 2006 file photo, an Cantonese opera singer applies makeup at her vanity table before the show begins in Hong Kong. Hong Kong'...
FILE - In this March 7, 2006 file photo, an Cantonese opera singer applies makeup at her vanity table before the show begins in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Academy for Performing Arts said in a statement Monday, May 16, 2011, the school will start offering a bachelor's program in Cantonese Opera in September 2013, in the latest effort to preserve the traditional southern Chinese art form that the United Nations has designated a key cultural heritage. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
A Hong Kong performing arts school will offer a Cantonese opera degree in the latest effort to preserve the traditional art form designated as a key cultural heritage.
The Academy for Performing Arts says the program will combine theory and practice to prepare students for Cantonese opera careers as performers, educators or arts administrators.
If the four-year program _ the first of its kind _ does well, postgraduate degrees may be added. The school's statement Monday said bachelor's degrees would be offered starting in September 2013.
Cantonese opera is sung in the southern Chinese dialect. A U.N. organization listed it as a key cultural heritage in 2009.