The emerging concern on intangible heritage in the international arena reflects the fear of cultural homogeneity, diminishing cultural diversity and human creativity. Cultural heritage is a symbol spiritual and intellectual wealth of a civilization, while intangible cultural heritage is associated to tradition and living expressions. There is a need to preserve these fragile assets so they would someday be oblivious in the modern world. Ironically, the potential strategy in preserving the intangible cultural heritage lies in the current advanced digital technology. This paper highlights major issues and challenges in the intangible cultural heritage preservation through technology, with regards to the content and the purpose associated to it.

Zapin Lenga is a Malaysian folk dance within Zapin Melayu and specifically known as Zapin Johor. Zapin Lenga was originated in Muar, one of the district in Johor state and the oldest Zapin Melayu repertoire that had been found in Johor. Zapin Lenga which usually performed for religious significance comprises of six-step patterns, known as ‘langkah’ that were performed only by the males during the olden days. In the meaning of preservation, we have used Motion Capture (MoCap) technology in recording and digitising human motions. In this paper, we present a primary work in preserving the dance movements of Zapin Lenga through Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) including Body, Effort, Shape and Space in order to identify qualities on dance movements. The dance movements were analysed by considering musical rhythm using segmentation method and the distances between markers were measured to define speed.

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