What is the origin, performance form and characteristics of Lingshou folk dance in Shijiazhuang?

On June 9th this year, Reation Wu and stilt horse were selected into the second batch of Shijiazhuang intangible cultural heritage list. Different from "running bamboo horse", stilt horse is a kind of folk dance with feet on stilts and tied with bamboo horse. The combination of stilt and horse is called "bamboo horse flying". In order to catch a glimpse of the stilt horse, a few days ago, a morning, the reporter came to Wufantong Village, Lingshou County, the hometown of stilt horses, and visited Yin, the inheritor of stilt horses.

During the conversation, I learned that the origin of stilt horse is still the result of a "whim". 1876, in the second year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, Wu Fan of Lingshou County and Yin Laomei, a villager, went to Shi Qiaocun of Pingshan County to catch a temple fair. There are local folk dances such as "boat riding", "running bamboo horses" and "running donkeys", all of which are performed on the flat ground. Because too many people came to catch the temple fair, Yin Laomei was so crowded that she couldn't see the performance at all and returned disappointed. Wu Fan and the villagers have a tradition of walking on stilts, and Yin Laomei herself is a good player on stilts. Back in the village, he came up with the idea of walking on stilts with dry boats and running bamboo horses, so that more people could look up and watch the performance. So, Yin Laomei tied a bamboo horse to her body and walked around the village on stilts, which made the villagers feel very novel. Later, while showing his skills, he joined a simple Quyi performance, singing a big drama on stilts, which was widely praised. Since then, the stilt horse has become a unique dance form in the same village in Wu Fan, and it has become a famous repertoire of temple fairs and sacrifices in Li Ji, Fiona Fang. The skill of stilt horse has been passed down from generation to generation, and Yin Laomei is honored as the "grandfather" of stilt horse.

Yin, the sixth generation inheritor, is 62 years old. She is hale and hearty, enthusiastic and optimistic. As soon as he saw the reporter, he talked about the various "tricks" of stilt horses. Speaking of rising, he has to stand up and shine for everyone. His expression is particularly vivid. Talking about the experience of young people learning art, Yin Laohan said that stilt horses should start from practicing walking on stilts, from holding the roots of the wall to two people walking side by side. It takes a long time to practice. When you are steady, you have to learn "kung fu", that is, acting skills. For example, as an appearance performance, "kowtowing" is similar to "tap dancing", but it is difficult to walk on stilts. The reporter heard that there was a performance called "kicking the washbasin" and felt very curious. Is it necessary to kick stilts on the washbasin? Yin Laohan said with a smile that this performance is the most difficult and requires the actors to be physically flexible. What it shows is "frightening the horse", which requires the cooperation of both drivers and passengers. They each hold one end of the reins, lean back and circle around the horse's head to form a basin-shaped posture, hence the name "pedal washbasin".

The stilt walkers in Wu Fan Village began to practice in winter until the rehearsal on the first day of the first month. Performing in the village and neighboring villages from the fifth day to the fourteenth day is called "Happy New Year"; On the fifteenth day of the first month, they began to attend the temple fair in this county, which is called "going to the temple". The original form of performance is that women drive horses and men drive horses, which is a portrayal of the times of "sending Lang to the battlefield". Now it's a woman riding a horse and a man riding a horse. In the words of Yin Laohan, it is "going back to her mother's house". Over the years, Yin Laohan's most impressive achievement is 1977. He played on stilts for three months, and the grand occasion of a sea of people is still fresh in his memory.