What kind of dances do the Dai have?

The Dai are a nation with a culture of ancient people, and also a nation that can sing and dance well. Dance of the Dai ethnic group has a variety of types, forms, popular surface is also very wide, and each has its own characteristics. The representative programs can be divided into three categories: self-indulgence, performance and ritual.

1. Self-entertainment programs include "Gaguang", "Elephant Foot Drum Dance", "Yelahui" and "Shouting Half-light", etc., of which the most representative ones are "Gaguang", "Yelahui" and "Shouting Half-light". "

The most representative programs are "Gaguang" and "Elephant Foot Drum Dance".

"Gaguang" is a Dai language, "ga" for jumping or dancing, "light" refers to the drum, but also has the meaning of gathering and piling up. "Gaguang" can be translated as "dancing around the drum", can also be translated as "jumping drum dance". In Xishuangbanna, it is called "Fan Guang", and in many places it is also called "Jumping Pendulum", "Ning Pendulum", etc. This dance is the oldest dance of the Dai people. This dance is the oldest dance of the Dai people, popular in more than 20 counties and cities, and it is a self-indulgent dance that can be danced at the time of annual festivals and celebrations, regardless of men and women, young and old, and regardless of the venue. Gaguang is accompanied by national percussion such as elephant foot drums and cymbals; however, in some places, those who beat the drums and cymbals also participate in the dance and lead the crowd to dance in a circle. In the past, when dancing, the dancers could play as they wished, just to be enthusiastic and joyful. Now has developed a lot of unified movements and routines, movements and routines of different names, and has given rise to a number of dance programs. Such as young people dancing "new point of light" there are more than 30 sets, there are two middle-aged and elderly women to carry the big point of light jumping "point of light central" as well as the elderly men jumping "Gawen" (soft dance) and so on.

The Elephant's Foot Drum Dance is a male dance for self-entertainment and performance.

The elephant foot drum is named according to the shape of the drum, and the Dai people generally call it "Gaguang", but there are three kinds of elephant foot drums, namely, long, medium and small, which have their own names. This kind of dance is mainly danced on the drums, accompanied by points and cymbals, and also danced on the drums and cymbals.

Long elephant foot drum drum body length of one meter eight to two meters, the Dai language called "Ga light around", all over the world, but to Ruili County's most representative. Long elephant foot drum is used for accompaniment, can play a rich and varied drums, and there are some drum language, such as "about pen Luo, about pen Luo, about must be about Li Li" (meaning "good to lift, good to lift, wings good to lift"); can also be struck by the side of the solo dance, in the display of the drumming skills of the At the same time, the long tail of the drum rotates and swings dramatically to form a beautiful dance.

The drum body of the Elephant's Foot Drum Dance is about one meter long, and this dance is popular in the whole Dai area, especially in Luxi, Yingjiang, Lianghe and other counties in the Dehong area, and Baoshan, Lincang and other places are the most representative. The elephant foot drum dance in Ronghong Dai language called "Gaguang", also known as "Gaguang Wujie" or "Gaguang Heila". When jumping is generally back drums follow the circle and dance, can be two people dance, can also be hit with the cymbal dance. In Mangshi, Dehong, there used to be a drum race, to beat the drum sound length, tone of voice, drum tail fluttering amplitude of the size of the dance whether the good-looking standard, the winner of the drum on the silver plate.

Small elephant foot drum dance drum body length of about sixty centimeters or so, popular in Jinghong, Menghai, Mengla and other counties, Xishuangbanna Dai language for the "where the light toto". Because the drum is small and lightweight, it can be danced flexibly, so this kind of dance is mainly competitive, usually a two-person dance, four people or a group can also be. Dance with the drums to chase and fight, retreat and dodge, kicking and fighting feet and other actions to be able to remove the other side of the head of the "head of the bag" for the win.

Shouting half light is an ancient form of Dai song and dance, popular in the Dehong region of Mangshi, Yingjiang, Ruili and other counties. "Shout half light" for the Dehong Dai language, "shout" means "singing" or "song", "half" means "singing" or "song", "half" means "singing" or "song". "half" means "follow me" or "around", "light" that is "! The word "light" means "drum"; the direct translation is "the song sung with the drum". There is no limit to the number of people who can dance.

Yelahui is a self-indulgent song and dance popular in Xishuangbanna, which used to be performed only by men during the Water Festival, but now it has become a form of collective song and dance in which both men and women, young and old, can participate. This kind of song and dance is simple and can be performed freely; however, the tune is fixed, so as long as someone improvises the lyrics and takes the lead in singing, the crowd can sing in chorus. At the end of the song, they call out "Yelahui, Shuiyi, Shuiyi". So this kind of song and dance is called "Yelahui".

2. Performing dances include "Peacock Dance", "Elephant Dance", "Fish Dance", "Butterfly Dance ", "Gomer Hat Dance" ...... and so on. The most representative is the Peacock Dance.

The Peacock Dance is the most characteristic performative dance in the Dai dance, which has been circulated in the Dehong area, Xishuangbanna area and Jinggu, Menglian, Gengma and other counties. Peacock Dance, in the Dai language in Dehong, is "Ga Luoyong", and in the Dai language in Xishuangbanna, is "Fan Nuoyong". "Ga" and "where" are jumping or dancing; "Luoyong" and "Nuoyong" are "peacock". During the performance, the dancers carry pagoda-shaped gold crowns and masks on their heads and peacock frame props on their backs, accompanied by elephant foot drums, cymbals and other musical instruments. There are solo dances, duo dances, trio dances and opera performances.

The peacock dance is not the same around the dance, to performers with different skills and specialties and the formation of a variety of different styles. Solo dance is most representative of Ruili County artists, they simulate the peacock walking, running, draught, shaking wings, flying, opening the screen and other actions, the formation of a rich dance; Ruili County semi-professional artists, such as Rui plate, He Fei, Mao Xiang, about the phase, Wangla, etc., who have their own innovations in the performance of the respective schools of thought and style and is known throughout the province. Double Peacock Dance, also known as "Fan Nan Nuo", the most representative double peacock dance circulated in Jinghong County. The word "Nan" means "noble woman", and "Nuo" means "finch" or "bird". "The name "Fan Nan Nuo" can be translated as "Dance of the Bird Princess", and this dance mainly shows the flying and dancing of two peacocks, male and female, relative to each other. The Peacock Dance of Mangshi City, Luxi County, was originally a trio dance performing the "Peacock and the Devil", and later evolved into a solo dance, with the peacock props made large and beautifully ornate, opening and closing freely, attracting a large audience. Jinggu County's peacock dance is a cabaret performance, singing while dancing, dance steps are simpler to walk and broken step-based, the performance is the scripture story "Calling He Han playing peacock.

3. There are only a few Dai ritual dances circulating in the mixed ethnic areas.

The "Ritual Drum Dance" passed down in the Dai villages of Yuanyang County is a simple dance performed during ancestor worship, accompanied by drums, sung and danced by the masters and mistresses on the altar, and danced freely by the people under the altar.

The Dai ethnic group in Shiping County has a "Dragon Dance" (跳龍舞), which is performed during the activities of sacrificing the dragon tree. During the dance, the male witch holds an iron circle with a ring, and the witch holds a one-sided drum made of sheepskin, and they lead the dance, and the villagers participate in the dance with the rhythm. From time to time, all the circle, from time to time, two to dance, no fixed form and formation, the dancers change position as they wish, only to seek high emotions, solemn and enthusiastic. Dance movement is simple, small steps, knees with the pace of a small range of toughness trembling, hands up around the semicircle, in the left and right waist side of the drum and shake the ring.

Xinping County also has the "Lion Dance" which is danced at the time of funeral, accompanied by suona and gongs; there are some routines, such as dancing around the coffin and opening the way in front of the coffin, etc. The performance style and music of this dance are similar to that of the "Lion Dance". The performance style and music of the dance is similar to that of the Han and Yi, and there are obvious traces of absorbing the dance music of the Han and Yi.

Some ritual dances, such as the "Jumping Willow God" and "Bei Ma Dance" popular in Jiangcheng County, have been passed down in the past in the Dehong area, and now no one jumps again. Ming Dynasty, "Baiyi biography" described in the "parents died, no monks, sacrifices are women wishing in front of the corpse, the relatives and neighbors, each holding wine in the funeral home, gathered hundreds of young people, drinking music, singing and dancing up to the day, called the entertainment of the corpse; women gathered, hit the pestle and mortar for the play, a few days after the burial." Ritual dance scenes can now also be seen only in the Dai settlement in Xinping County: on the second day of mourning, a blow-drum troupe must be invited to dance for the dead (i.e., lion dance); women gang up and play with the men. This shows that the dances in the funeral activities that existed during the Ming Dynasty still exist today, only simplified.

The Dai people have another type of martial arts dance, which has a long history. The Dai have experienced a feudal lordship society. The adult male Dai, who are usually serfs and soldiers in wartime, must learn the skills and routines of dancing with knives, guns, sticks and fists for self-defense and participation in wars. Today's Dai men have also inherited this tradition as a way to show their bravery and resourcefulness. But today they practice the sword, gun, stick and fist, has been integrated into the other ethnic groups to learn from the routine, such as boxing has a local boxing, foreign boxing, Myanmar boxing, Thai boxing and other different styles of schools, performances with drums and other accompaniment, the development of martial arts has become a dance.

The Dai people themselves explained that "Dai" has two meanings: one is the meaning of heroes and hard-working people; the other is freedom-loving people, containing the meaning of peace. The Dai people also call themselves "Ludai Lumang", meaning "the son of the Dai family, the son of the water".

The Dai are one of the earliest rice farmers in the world, and they live by the water, love water, pray for water, and have special feelings for water. In the myth of the Dai people, the Creator Yingba was originally the water in the sky; and people are made of water and clay; the ancestors of the Dai people were born in the pond. In the various legends about the "Water Festival", although the characters are different, but they use water to subdue the fire, use water to wash the blood, use water to pray for blessings and so on is the same.

The Dai people are hard-working, brave, gentle and kind, which is recognized by all; "a nation like water" is another description of the Dai people's character. They are polite and gentle, soft on the outside and strong on the inside, wise and smart and humorous character like water, sometimes like a trickle of fine streams, gentle and delicate; sometimes like the torrent of a big river, swift and surging. The dance of the Dai people also fully reflects this rich and colorful national character. Although most of the movements of Dai dance are elegant and graceful, the rhythm is relatively gentle, but the outer softness and inner strength are full of inner strength. There is the graceful and light "Gomer Hat Dance" as well as the flexible, proudly healthy, agile, and full of masculinity of the Elephant Foot Drum Dance, Knife Dance, Boxing Dance, etc. In the performance of Peacock Dance, the Dance of the Peacock Dance is performed by the Dance of the Peacock Dance. In the performance of Peacock Dance, sometimes the rhythm is slow and single, the movement is stretched and the feelings are inherent and implicit, sometimes the rhythm is fast and changeable, the movement is flexible and jumping, and the feelings are wild and bold. The Dai dance is characterized by the unique flexion and extension of the rhythm and the formation of the hands, feet, body "three curves" modeling characteristics, as well as rigid and flexible, static and dynamic with the unique performance style, y loved by the masses.

The Dai people live in areas bordering on Burma, Laos, Vietnam and other countries. The Dai people are good at absorbing the cultural essence from the four directions, and are able to integrate it into their own ancient culture, which, after a long period of development, has resulted in the formation of a wide range of Dai dances in a variety of forms.

One hand of the Dai Dance: the thumb is clasped back and placed on the front side of the thigh.

Side one hand: both wrists snake back, hands should be a little curved, thumbs to the back of the clasp, arm slightly bent, in the thigh 2 side.

Back one hand: hands behind hips, not *together*, slightly apart, hands not too far away from the body, hands should be a little curved, thumbs back toward the clasp, arms slightly bent.

Side one hand: hands on one register of the body, similar to one hand.

Basic kinesis:

1 Frontal undulation: heavy beat sinks downward, slowly, go downward evenly, spine should be perpendicular, squatting can't be front invasion nor backward leaning, spine sinks downward against the heel, lifting upward slowly, same as sagging!

2 next to the ups and downs: when sinking out of the right collapsed, both knees bent downward, left knee * knee of the right foot, upper body to the left than out, head to the right, the opposite direction of the action, out of the left collapsed, the right foot pointing to the ground to the left leg *, at this time, the left leg is the main leg, the center of gravity in the left leg, out of the collapsed upper body can not be invasion of the back to the rear, to maintain a straight, the top out of the right waist, the head to the left.

3 feet of the positive step up and down: when the body sinks when there is a leg lift, hook back when the knee can not be forward to the top (because the Dai dance is wearing a barrel skirt) forward will be very difficult to see, it must be vertical backward kicking, and is a hook foot, whenever the kick up to be rapid, the action should be done in a clean manner, but also with breathing! When the leg kicks backward the upper body kind of undulates from side to side, not straight up! When the left leg is up, the right collapses, and when the right leg is up, the left crosses, this action is very important in Dai dance!