Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), exemplified by the lion dance, faces pressing challenges in the digital era, particularly regarding the transmission of complex, embodied skills that are indispensable for sustaining cultural competency. Prevailing digital media platforms privilege passive observation, offering limited avenues for the acquisition and reproduction of embodied practices central to ICH. This study introduces the Lion Dance VR Revival – an immersive learning platform designed through the proposed Tri-Modal Design Framework. This integrative framework synthesizes cognitive load theory, scaffolding theory, and self-determination theory to address cognitive, pedagogical, and motivational dimensions while embedding cultural context within embodied learning. The structured learning trajectory comprises three modules: (1) Meaning, (2) Motion, and (3) Mastery. It guides learners from cultural orientation to progressive skill acquisition. A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted with 37 novice participants. Quantitative findings demonstrated significant increases in learning motivation (M = 4.51/5) and engagement (M = 4.31/5). Complementary qualitative analyses further corroborated these outcomes, underscoring the framework’s efficacy in fostering cultural authenticity, leveraging gamification, and utilizing real-time feedback from the “Digital Sifu” to support learning. Collectively, these results substantiate the pedagogical validity of the Tri-Modal Design Framework and provide a theoretically grounded model for developing immersive technologies aimed at the preservation and transmission of practice-based ICH.