Dai dance is typically characterized by the "three bends" posture. Female dance is mostly lyrical, beautiful, subtle and implicit.
Peacock hometown
Dai danced
Written by /Wang Jin Photography/Ye Jin Xu Yunhua
In the southwest border, Pukui towering, oil palm forest, swaying bamboo forest with the wind cover bamboo buildings, Buddhist temples, the endless Lancang River reflects the dai family girls' colorful tube skirts and graceful dances, here is the hometown of the peacock - Xishuangbanna. The Dai people, men, women and children, who can sing and dance, whenever they hear the enthusiastic sound of elephant foot drums after work or in the harvest season, they can't help but dance. The Dai dance, which is full of subtropical unique style, is so delicate, amorous, feminine and yuanna...
The Dai family in Xishuangbanna
The Dai ethnic group is concentrated at the western end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, where mountains such as Gaoligong Mountain and Wuliang Mountain gradually become gentle and low, and the Lancang River and Nu River are gradually widening here. Between these mountains and rivers, many canyons and flat dams have been formed, which are the home of the Dai people. There is no distinction between spring, summer, autumn and winter, and it is often divided into two seasons of dry and wet or three seasons of cool and hot rain. The dress of the Dai people is also affected by the climate, men generally wear upper wearing and shorts or tube skirts on the bottom; women generally wear sleeveless or sleeved small ridges and long skirts underneath. Because the Dai people have the custom of wearing tube skirts for both men and women, the steps should not be too large when walking, and the thighs basically do not move, mainly relying on the swing of the crotch and the flexion and extension of the knees to drive the calves forward, and kick the calves backwards once every step. This leads to the dynamic characteristics of Dai dance flexion and hip swing, as well as the typical steps of the back kick.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the Dai villages in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Are hidden in the bamboo forest swaying with the wind.
The Dai are a people who believe in Theravada Buddhism. The influence of Buddhism on Dai dances can also be seen in the Changjia Dance and Wax Strip Dance that have been handed down to the present day.
The Dai people produce bamboo, and the artistic image of "bamboo" is often expressed in dance. The famous song "Phoenix Tail Bamboo in the Moonlight", the dance "Bamboo Moon Bend", "Rain Bamboo Forest", etc., all take bamboo as the object of expression.
△ The Dai are a people who believe in Theravada Buddhism. Over the course of time, Buddhist thought gradually penetrated into the minds of the Dai people, and at the same time, the Dai people also integrated their own ideas and aspirations into Theravada Buddhism, making it localized and Dai.
Dai dance gracefully, love rhymes slowly
Dai folk dance is not only widely spread, but also rich and diverse in form. Common female dances are mainly lyrical, beautiful, subtle and implicit in tenacity; men's dances are strong, stable, delicate and powerful, appearing heroic and refreshing.
The Peacock Dance, known in Dai as "Galo Chung", "Fu Luo Chung" or "Ga Nan Lo", is a favorite dance of the locals.
△ In April 1972, during the Dai Songkran Festival in Menghai County, Yunnan Province, the Dai people performed a traditional peacock dance. The peacock dance was originally a male dance, and the performance required wearing a bulky peacock opening screen prop, which brought great limitations to the dance.
△ Dai men perform the "Gaguang Dance", which is an elephant foot encouragement. "Gaguang Dance" is the most popular male dance in the Dai area, simple and enthusiastic, and more smooth movements.
The peacock dance is usually performed by one, two or three people. Whenever the dancers danced to joy, the crowd applauded "I-U" and "Water-Water", and the atmosphere was very warm. The traditional peacock dance has a more fixed performance program, imitating the peacock flying out of the nest, sensitive sighting, walking peacefully, looking for water, drinking water, playing with water, bathing, shaking wings, drying wings, spreading wings, comparing beauty with all things, flying freely and happily...
Dai musical instruments are small (above). Dai baby elephant foot drum. The dai one-sided drum is shaped like an elephant's foot, hence the name "elephant foot drum", the elephant foot drum has three kinds of drum shapes: long, medium and small, and there are three different jumping methods according to the shape of the drum (left picture). Dai folk dances are generally accompanied by instruments such as flutes, gourd silk, elephant foot drums, gongs, and brass drums.
△ The program "Daughter Country" in the second "Land" of the large-scale original ecological song and dance collection "Yunnan Yingxiang" written and starred by Yang Liping showed the dance danced by Hua Waist Dai. "Yunnan Yingxiang" was first performed in 2004, and in the same year, it won the Gold Medal for Dance Poetry of the China Dance Lotus Award.
From folk dances to stage masterpieces
Through the inheritance and development of countless artists and literary and artistic workers, Dai dance has transformed into today's dance works with great aesthetic meaning and national characteristics, and are loved by people.
Bai dancer Yang Liping's performance of "Spirit of the Sparrow" is a classic dance work that audiences at home and abroad are very familiar with. In fact, the fine works on the stage are not achieved overnight. After continuous excavation and sorting, generations of artists have evolved the traditional "peacock dance" performed in the village square into a fine work on the stage.
△ In 1986, in the Second National Dance Competition, the Dai dance "Spirit of the Sparrow", which seemed to have no difficult dance skills, won the first prize in creation and the first place in performance. Yang Liping's pure, natural, delicate and highly individualistic performance reflects a yearning and pursuit of nature and beauty. (Courtesy photo / China Dancers Association)
△ In 1980, Dao Meilan, a dance artist of the older generation of the Dai ethnic group, created and performed the solo dance "Golden Peacock", which made the peacock dance exclusive to women. (Courtesy photo / China Dancers Association)
△ The Dai trio dance "Shao Duoli", performed by Wang Jin, Cui Yingmei and Liu Xiaozhi, shows three Dai girls playing in the spring breeze sprinkled with sunshine. (Photography / Ye Jin)
This article is excerpted from the December 2012 issue of Civilization
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