Yao Dance Basic Moves

The Long Encouragement

The dances of the Yao people are closely related to hunting, farming and rituals. At the same time, Yao traditional drums, songs and dances are often integrated into one, i.e. drumming, singing and dancing. There are mainly long drums, copper drums and pottery drums.

The big long drum is mainly circulated in the Au Yao area of Jinxiu Yao Shanxiang Township, Guangxi. There are male drums and female drums. The male drum is thin and long-waisted, while the female drum is thick and short-waisted. When playing, the female drum is placed horizontally in front of the chest, and the right hand pats the right end of the drum to make a "bang" sound; the left hand strikes the left end of the drum's edge with a bamboo piece to make a "pop" sound. That is, "bang - pop, bang - pop" rhythm; male drums, in order to play with the female drum. The male drum sound is high, the female drum sound is low, thick, wide range, can be heard near and far. Dance, sometimes the drum sound "bang - pop", sometimes men and women sing in the same voice, sometimes the drum, song, dance intertwined into one, fully expresses the art style of Yao drum culture.

The middle-length drums are mainly found in the eight rows of Liannan in Guangdong Province. When dancing, the long drum is hung diagonally in front of the chest, with the left end of the drum high and the right end low. The rhythm of the drum is often the opposite of that of the big long drum, i.e., the beats of "pah-pah-boom" and "pah-pah-boom". Dance with certain difficult movements, the dancers are jumping in the air, sometimes squatting disk line, sometimes shaking the drum around the shoulders and so on. There are also bullhorns, gongs and drums to accompany the dance. The scene is cheerful and enthusiastic, showing that the Yao people are bold, free-spirited, strong and courageous national character.

Small long encouragement is mainly circulated in the self-proclaimed Mianyao area. The dance movements are rich and colorful. There are 36 sets and 72 sets of different dance movements, and the dance is characterized by light singing and dancing. The main performances include the making of long drums and the performance of rituals. There are solo dances, as well as duo dances or dances with a mixture of men and women. Dancers are often the mouth without leaving the song, hands without leaving the dance, feet without leaving the dance. And there are suona, gongs and drums accompaniment.