Kaleidoscope of Dance from Yunnan
Traditional folk dance to uplift the heart. A vibrant feast for the senses.
Synopsis
The province of Yunnan is home to more than 20 ethnic groups whose exquisites’ songs echo in snowy mountains and serene lakes. Their dances reflect the millenary tales of ancient cities, where culture and heritage pass from generation to generation.
Meet the Yi women who take the traditional “treading buckwheat” steps while working in the fields, weaving poetry into their everyday life; the Lisu people who express their love for nature through dancing; Wa maidens perform the “Hair Dance” under the moonlight, celebrating 3,000 years of civilization; and the Dai men who strike the elephant foot drums to celebrate the harvest festival, amid an exciting lineup.
While different ethnic groups live close to one another, their cultures are uniquely rich and diverse. This dance gala depicts the plehora of cultures that paint a colourful and magnificient Yunnan.
1. Goat Dance – Traditional Lisu dance ensemble
This narrative dance honours the history of the Lisu people, especially their love for nature and their longing for happiness.
2. Sculpting a Dai Figurine – Dai male solo dance
The Dai dance celebrates the craftsmanship behind mud sculpture – to create form out of nothingness, and adding sensuality to the blossoming life.
3. Lute and Huqin Dance – Traditional Yi dance ensemble
Young men of the Yi tribe play the moon lute and the huqin in celebration of the harvest with their loved ones, as young maidens sing and dance.
4. Dawn Breaks – Dai female solo dance
Living upstream of the Red River, Dai maidens are endowed with beauty as exquisite as the breaking dawn.
5. Treading on Clouds – Yi female dance ensemble
Yi women adopt the traditional “treading buckwheat” steps while working in the fields, weaving poetry into their everyday life.
6. At the Feast – Traditional Yi male dance ensemble
New Year and weddings are wonderful celebrations in life – so special that there is a dance dedicated to festive serving!
7. Maidens in Fiery Dresses – Traditional Yi dance ensemble
Immerse yourself in the exuberant energy of the Huayao Yi ethnic people, who grace the stage in fiery red costumes, raising their arms and legs to sing and dance to three different rhythms.
8. 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.
9. Aria – Dai female pas de deux
Dancers twist their arms and bodies into an “S” shape to emulate the form and grace of Buddhist sculptures.
10. An Ancient Calling – Wa dance ensemble
This ensemble takes inspiration from the distinctive “Hair Dance” of the Wa people, and the 3,000-year-old cave painting celebrating dance.
11. Fluttering Hearts –Yi pas de deux
The courtship of young lovers is chronicled here as dancers use traditional Yi tobacco boxes as percussion instruments to harmonise with their joyful heartbeats.
12. 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.
13. Elephant Foot Drums (2nd prize winner of the National Dance Competition) – Dai male 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.
精彩劇照E
Production & Artistic Team
Artistic Coordinator：
Yang Yuntao
Executive Artistic Coordinator：
Xie Yin
Programme Coordinator：
Sun Junkun
Director & Choreographer：
Long Jian (SUn Junkun)
Choreographer：
Tao Chun
Excutive Director：
Yang Xukang
Costume Coordinator：
Long Jian (Sun Junkun)
Set Designer：
Bacchus Lee (By kind permission of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts)
Assistant to Set Designer：
Travis Ying
Lighting Designer：
Billy Tang