Dancing｜HKDC - Chinese Ethnic Dance Kaleidoscope of Dance from Yunnan(10-12/2)
Chinese Ethnic Dance: Kaleidoscope of Dance from Yunnan
Traditional folk dance to uplift the heart. A vibrant feast for the senses.
The province of Yunnan is home to more than 20 ethnic groups whose exquisites’ songs echo in snowy mountains and serene lakes, and their dance reflecting the storied histories of ancient cities, where culture and heritage pass from generation to generation.
Maidens of the Yi tribe wearing fiery red costumes sing and dance to a fast tune; Lisu people commemorate their ancestors’ passion for Nature in a ritual dance; Wa women fling their hair under moonlight in a dance that traces three millennia of their civilization; Dai youths strike their elephant foot drums in celebration of festivals and harvests.
Different ethnic groups might live close to one another but their cultural diversity is rich and wide. A variety to these cultures are depicted in dance to create a magnificent impression of colourful Yunnan.
1. Lute Dance – Traditional Yi dance Young men of Yi tribe play the moon lute in celebration of the harvest with their loved ones, as young maidens sing and dance.
2. Maidens in Fiery Dresses – Traditional Yi dance Women of the Huayao branch of the Yi people wearing fiery red dresses sing traditional fast tunes and move their arms and feet in three different rhythms, exuding energy and verve.
3. Goat Dance – Traditional Lisu dance This narrative dance traces the history of the Lisu people, especially their passion for Nature and their simple longing for happiness.
4. At the Feast – Traditional Yi men’s dance Weddings and New Years are wonderful occasions for feasting and dancing. There’s even a dance devoted to food serving!
5. Treading on Clouds – Yi female dance ensemble Yi women adopt the traditional “treading buckwheat” steps while working in the fields, adding poetry into mundane living.
6. The Hearts Beat Wildly –Yi pas de deux The courtship of young lovers is chronicled here as dancers use traditional Yi tobacco boxes as percussion instruments, their rhythmic effects matching joyful heartbeats.
7. Call of the Ancient – Wa female dance ensemble Using the distinctive “Hair Dance” of the Wa people, images and patterns created are based on 3000-year-old stone paintings of dancers.
8. Aria – Dai women pas de deux Dancers twist their arms and bodies into an “S” shape that captures the style and spirit of Buddhist sculptures.
9. Young men, four-string lutes and rhododendrons – Yi men pas de trois Yi men play the four-string lutes and offer beautiful rhododendrons to court the girls of their dreams.
10. Tap Dance of the East – Hani female dance ensemble Clad in wooden clogs, women of the Hani tribe step in time, planting rice in the terraced rice fields.
11. Sculpting a Dai figurine – Dai solo dance (male) Using Dai dance from Xishuangbanna to depict the making of a mud figurine, from being formless to carved into shape, gaining sensitivity as life blossoms.
12, Elephant Foot Drums (2nd-prizewinner of the National Dance Competition) – Dai dance ensemble By the bamboo hut under the Bodhi tree, a happy community gathers as men strike golden elephant foot drums, peacocks fan their tails and egrets soar in the air.
13, Dawn Breaks – Dai solo dance (female) Living upstream of the Red River, Dai maidens are endowed with such beauty as the breaking dawn.
Creative Team
Artistic Coordinator: Yang Yuntao
Executive Artistic Coordinator: Xie Yin
Programme Coordinator: Sun Junkun
Director & Choreographer: Sun Yuejie
Choreographer: Tao Chun
Excutive Director: Yang Xukang
Costume Coordinator: Long Jian (Sun Junkun)
Set Designer: Bacchus Lee*
Assistant to Set Designer: Travis Ying
Lighting Designer: Billy Tang
*By kind permission of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
