Ritual dances were still very important in the lives of the people I met during my journey, and they were eager to share their culture with others. In 2002 I was fortunate to have the help of Ms. Ge Shurong 葛树荣, deputy director of Minority Research, whom Zhang Jigang had contacted to take me to see Minority dances as part of my Chinese dance project. While the first performance was clearly a commercial production, not dance as it would be done in rural villages, there was much more in store for me. Ms. Ge took me to several Tibetan villages including Dali 大理, Zhongdian 中甸, Wujingsiang 五境乡, Nixi 尼西村 and others in Yunnan Province over the course of a week, traveling up through the steep mountains to reach the secluded communities. At Wujingsiang 五境乡, Tibetan farmers—encouraged by governmental documentation efforts—walked 3 ½ hours from their homes in the mountains to perform for us so I could videotape their dances. The steep mountains and buildings perched precariously on the slopes formed a dramatic backdrop for the dances. The performance took place outside an elementary school, and the students also danced for us. After the performance, all the VIPs, guests, and teachers posed for a photo. Along with the other guests, including Ms. Ge, I was given a white blessing scarf to wear around my neck. I found myself crying, so overcome by the warmth and generosity of these people. Some of the teachers were also given scarves, most likely for coaching the children’s dance. On the far right side of the group photo you can see a few of the children getting into the picture. The boy in yellow was one of the best young dancers that day! Who knows, maybe dance became his life’s pathway.
[41] Wujingsiang Township: After the performance, all the VIPs, guests, and teachers pose for a photo. On the far right of the picture you can see the eager young student I mentioned. I was so tickled that he ended up in my photo!
[40] Wujingsiang Township: Students from the school pose as a group.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[39] Wujingsiang Township: Students from the school perform for us after the adults danced.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[36] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Women’s costume.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[37} Tibetan Dance 五境乡 Wujingsiang Township 18
[38] Wujingsiang Township: The dancers with VIPs and guests pose for a photo.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[35] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Women’s costume.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[33] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Women’s costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[34] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Women’s costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[32] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Men’s costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[31] Wujingsiang Township 2002: Men’s costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[30] Wujingsiang Township: Men’s costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[29] Wujingsiang Township: The courtyard is decorated to the hilt with many banners.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[28] Wujingsiang Township: The dancer’s prop appears to be a horsetail.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[27] Wujingsiang Township: Here you can clearly see the very steep mountainsides that surround the village.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[26] Wujingsiang Township: Women dancing.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[25] Tibetan Guozhuang (Communal) dance 锅庄舞Xianggelila Region 香格里拉Wujingsiang 五境乡 Township: All the VIPs—myself included—are seated at a long table. Other audience members are scattered about, crouched up on the embankments surrounding the courtyard of the school. Note that the name of the region, Xianggelila, has sometimes been rendered in English as “Shangri-la.”
Yunnan Province 2002.
I was struck by how many people felt an urgent need to share their culture, and by their ready response to outsiders who were interested in their lives and art. This eager welcome was on full display at another Tibetan village in Yunnan Province when I visited at the height of the summer, and the visit proved to be most memorable. These rural farmers normally only dance in the winter, when they have no crops to tend, so they only had heavy winter costumes—fur hats included. Yet they were so eager for me to record their dances that they were willing to wear their winter costumes as they dance over and over again until we had enough footage. I was so very touched, and amazed, at their stamina. (My camera was threatening to melt!) The colorful clothing also held special cultural significance, and the dancers were pleased when Ms. Ge asked to try on a costume.
[42] Tibetan Guozhuang (Communal) dance 锅庄舞Xianggelila Region 香格里拉Nixi Township 尼西村: Shih-Ming and Ms. Ge Shurong 葛树荣, Deputy Director of Minority Research (in costume).
Yunnan Province 2002.
[43] Nixi Township: Women preparing for the dance. Note the basketball hoop at the top left.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[44] Nixi Township: Women’s dance. Note the terraces on the steep hill.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[45] Nixi Township: Note the extremely steep mountainside in the background.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[46] Nixi Township: You can see the rustic surroundings as I wait with my melting camera, and the farmers wait to perform.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[47] Nixi Township 2002: Here I am inspecting a special stringed instrument, hand-made by each farmer to play at the same time as he dances. The dancers made their own music as they performed, as there were no separate musicians.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[48] Nixi Township: This picture was taken in the village square, a walled plaza at the center of the village, which is part way down the steep mountainside. The Jinsha River金沙江runs at the very bottom of the mountain. It is one of the few water sources for washing and bathing.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[49] Nixi Township: The women pose to show me their costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[50] Nixi Township: The sun was so hot I had to hold an umbrella over my camera, yet the villagers danced in their heavy winter costumes.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[51] Nixi Township: Elaborate coloration on back of women’s costume.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[52] Nixi Township: In this photo the performers are working out some kinks in their timing—they weren’t together and had a good laugh at themselves as a result. The asked me to wait until they got the timing set before I videoed, and clearly were enjoying themselves as they perfected their dance. (Given the heat, I was astonished at their endurance, especially to repeatedly rehearse while wearing their heavy costumes.)
Yunnan Province 2002.
Not all of the performances were outdoors. In one village, the dances took place in the living room of a farmer’s house.
[53] Tibetan Guozhuang dance 锅庄舞Xianggelila Region 香格里拉 Jiantang Township 建塘镇.
After an indoor performance, the dancers pose for a photograph in the room where they had danced, a living room in a Tibetan farmer’s house. You can get a sense of the size of the room from this picture.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[54] Jiantang Township: A closer shot of the group after their performance.
Yunnan Province 2002.
At another village the dancers wore different, but equally colorful costumes.
[55] Tibetan Guozhuang dance 锅庄舞Xianggelila Region 香格里拉 Benzilan Township 奔子栏镇:
Men’s costume.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[56] Benzilan Township: Women’s costume.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[57] Benzilan Township: During the dance.
Yunnan Province 2002.
[58] Benzilan Township: Shih-Ming with the performers, in the village square. Three people crouching in front with me and Ms. Ge are Minority leaders Wang Tongli 王同礼; Zhang Wenhua 张文华 and Zhang Zhonghua 张中华who had made all the connections and arrangements for me to visit the rural villages. They also drove me up and down the treacherous roads for many hours to reach these secluded areas.
Yunnan Province 2002.
