Ethnic Dance (五)

Ethnic Dance


Peacock Dance《孔雀舞》

Another major system is ethnic dance. There are 56 ethnic groups in China, and all of them sing and dance. Since Kangbar Khan processed the grassroots culture of self-entertainment into exquisite stage art, everyone’s brains have been opened up, and dances and dancers of various ethnic groups have emerged like a blowout. In the 1950s, Jia Zuoguang’s “Ordos Dance” won the gold medal in the fifth “World Youth Festival” in one fell swoop, pushing Mongolian dance to the top of the world dance pyramid for the first time, and I was fortunate to take the lead under his personal guidance. The lead dancer of this dance. After that, his solo dance “Dance in the Bowl” became my repertoire.

Note: Jia Zuoguang
(April 1, 1923-January 6, 2017)

Because of the dance image he created, many people mistakenly thought he was a Mongolian, but he was actually Manchu. Under the guidance of Wu Xiaobang in the late 1940s, He just arrived in Inner Mongolia. But he put on a Mongolian robe, rode a horse and galloped across the vast grassland, and trains horses, milks, mows, rides and shoots, wrestles, and drinks like every ordinary Mongolian. Being a Mongolian. Like a “gold digger”, Jia Zuoguang carefully digs and collects Mongolian dances and refines them. Nowadays, many colorful Mongolian dance movements are actually created by Jia Zuoguang based on life at that time, but the herdsmen all agree. That is from their “ancestral heritage.” Jia Zuoguang has truly become the founder of Mongolian dance. He has created a large number of works reflecting the life of the grassland, which is deeply loved and affirmed by people.

Representative works include “Horse Horse Dance”, “Goose Dance”, “Saber Dance”, “The Joy of Herdsmen”, “Oroqen Dance” and so on. Joined the Beijing Dance School (now Beijing Dance Academy) in 1955, and later served as the head of the school and established a choreographer class. “Ordos”, “Cup Bowl Dance” and “Milkmen Dance” created in the 1950s and 1960s won the first prize, gold medal and bronze medal of the World Youth and Student Peace and Friendship Festival respectively. “Oh Ba” (Fish Dance) won the Three Gorges Cup Award. From the 1950s to the 1980s, nearly 150 dance works were created, which are popular at home and abroad, and the number of awards is second to none in China. He is the most famous dance performance artist, choreographer, and founder of Beijing Dance Academy, known as the “God of Oriental Dance”. Achievement as another pioneer in the Chinese dance industry.)

Dancers like Jia Zuoguang who have dedicated their lives to the discovery and processing of national dance are not one or two, but one generation and two generations, such as Cui Meishan, Dao Meilan, Modgema, Ayitula, and now Yang Liping, etc. Due to historical reasons, in some regions or ethnic groups, dances that naturally spread in life are on the verge of extinction. With the advent of the new era, they are also eager to have dances that represent their own nation, and even directly call for help from professional dancers. “Happy Long Wind” and “Grass Hat Dance” came into being in this way.

“Languo” Yi language means the Yi nationality. They live in large and small Liangshan Mountains in Sichuan and have been living under slavery. They even wear handcuffs and shackles when they sleep. There is dancing in the shackles of their lives! After liberation, slavery was abolished. Dancer Leng Maohong witnessed the ecstatic state of Yi compatriots shaking their hands and feet when the handcuffs and shackles were opened, and was deeply moved. He took this as a basis and added the “foot crutches” in the sacrifice activities of the Yi people. With dynamic features such as “Dang Skirt”, he created “Happy Long Wind”, because it accurately expressed the character and aspirations of the Yi compatriots, it was unanimously recognized by the Yi compatriots, and spread all over the country at once. From scratch, the Yi nationality was created. Dance, Yi nationality dance has now become a large and distinctive Chinese folk dance.

Similarly, “Kusagasa Dance” is also carefully created by professional dancers. National dance competitions were frequent at that time, and the Li nationality living in Hainan also hoped to participate in dances representing their own nation. Chen Qiao, a dancer who has long lived in the settlements of the Li nationality, created the “Grass Hat Dance” based on the Li nationality women’s ingenuity, good knitting characteristics, and the posture of akimbo, shaking hands, crotch, and crutches.


In short, some grasped the aesthetic characteristics of the original form of a certain ethnic dance, strengthened it, and transformed folk dance from a field form into an exquisite stage art masterpiece with ornamental value; some explored the contemporary significance of ancient folk customs from the perspective of modern people. , To create brand-new dances that can reflect the temperament and meaning of the nation. They are like “style paintings”, reappearing new scenes in the lives of people of various ethnic groups. The dancers in the 1950s and 1960s opened up a new world of Chinese folk dance with the spirit of “hard work, continuous self-improvement, inheritance, pioneering and innovation”. Only from scratch has made China’s national dance shining like stars, and it has become the country with the richest dance art in the world.

Note: 3 Images Pictured Above
“Ordos”, “Happy Longwind” and “Grass Hat Dance” which I arranged for students in the United States

Two of my favorites are Korean dance and Dai dance.
I think Korean dance best represents Eastern human culture. It is graceful and elegant, soft and long. The biggest feature is breathing, which comes from the “breath” of the natural theory of vitality in China. Zhuangzi said: “The life of human beings is the gathering of qi. The gathering is life, and the dispersion is death.” China believes that the foundation of human beings is “qi”, which is the most prominent and representative of Chinese human body culture that differs from the West. Sign. Korean dance is to permeate this “qi” throughout the dance, throughout all parts of the body, use the breath to grasp the inner strength, control the inner feelings and the unity of form and spirit. The length, severity, and urgency of qi provide a rich and delicate inner rhythm, even delicate to the fingers, ankles, and toes. So he moved loosely, unhurriedly and smoothly, and calmed down in a graceful and graceful manner. It doesn’t matter whether you fall into a rock hard, or whether it is subtle or deep. Both can achieve a balance between one yin and one yang. From the middle, we can clearly feel the shadow of the Confucian “medium” thought. The right state creates the calm, steady, harmonious, and implicit beauty of Korean dance.

Soaring above the heads of all these dancing elves is “Peacock”. On a high hill, a peacock proudly spread its beautiful tail feathers, and rushed down-drinking, taking pictures, bathing, and then dancing… The peacock is the totem of the Dai people, a symbol of auspiciousness and happiness, and the peacock dance has almost become the representative of the Dai dance. But our performance of “Peacock Dance” has experienced a big earthquake, marking a great revolution in the development of national dance. It turned out that the “Peacock Dance”, which was circulated in the folk tradition of the Dai people in the past, was all performed by men with heavy props that symbolized wings, which greatly hindered the free exercise of the human body, which is the basis of dance.

At that time, the choreographer of the Central Song and Dance Ensemble Jin Ming (also the choreographer of “Red Silk Dance”) boldly removed the heavy wooden wings and replaced it with women’s performances. At the same time, the tube skirts usually worn by Dai women were changed to large skirts like peacock tail feathers. This new “Peacock Dance” was dazzlingly beautiful once it was released, and it amazed everyone. Unexpectedly, a group of conservatives jumped out, saying that these bold innovations were haunting national traditions, undermining national unity, and even saying that raising their legs so high was an insult to the Dai women and lashed out. However, the trend of innovation is unstoppable, and there is still endless debate here. “Peacock Dance” has won the championship in one fell swoop in the world and won the gold medal.

Note: I organized the “Korean Fan Dance” and “Peacock Dance” for the Sino-American Dance Club.

民族舞蹈

另外一大系统是民族舞蹈，中国有56个民族，个个能歌善舞。自从康巴尔汗把自娱自乐的草根文化加工成精美的舞台艺术后，所有人脑洞大开，各个民族的舞蹈和舞蹈家如井喷般涌现。50年代，贾作光（注）的《鄂尔多斯舞》一举在第五届“世界青年联欢节”夺得金奖，首次将蒙古舞推到了世界舞蹈的金字塔尖，而我有幸在他的亲自指点下，担纲这个舞蹈的领舞。之后，他创作的独舞《盅碗舞》，又成为我的保留剧目。


Mongolian Dance 《蒙古舞》

(注）贾作光
(1923年4月1日—2017年1月6日)



因为他塑造的舞蹈形象，很多人误以为他是蒙古人，其实他是满族，40年代后期在吴晓邦的指引下，才到了内蒙古。但他穿上蒙古大袍，骑上骏马奔驰在辽阔的草原上，和每一个普通的蒙古人一样驯马、挤奶、割草、骑射、摔跤、饮酒，把自己真正当作一个蒙古人。贾作光像一个“淘金者”那样，悉心挖掘采集蒙古族舞蹈，并加以提炼，现在许多丰富多彩的蒙古舞动作，其实是那时贾作光根据生活创造的，可是牧民们都一致认可那就是来自他们的“祖传”。贾作光名副其实的成为蒙古族舞蹈的奠基人。创作了大量反映草原生活的作品，深得人们的喜爱和肯定。

代表作有《牧马舞》、《雁舞》、《马刀舞》、《牧民的喜悦》、《鄂伦春舞》等。1955年加入北京舞蹈学校（现北京舞蹈学院），后任院领导，建立编导班。50－60年代创作的《鄂尔多斯》、《盅碗舞》、《挤奶员舞》曾分别获世界青年与学生和平与友谊联欢节一等奖、金质奖章和铜奖章。《嗄巴》（鱼舞）获三峡杯奖。50年代至80年代创作了近150多部舞蹈作品，并在国内外流行，获奖之多在国内首屈一指。是最著名的舞蹈表演艺术家、编导艺术家，北京舞蹈学院创建人，有“东方舞神”之誉。成就为中国舞蹈事业的另一位先驱级人物）

像贾作光这样把一生都奉献给民族舞蹈发掘整理加工的舞蹈家不是一个二个，而是一代二代，像崔美善、刀美兰、莫德格玛、阿依吐拉，以及现在的杨丽萍等等。由于历史原因，一些地区或民族，生活中自然传衍的舞蹈濒临绝迹。新时代来临，他们也渴望有代表自己民族的舞蹈，甚至直接向专业舞蹈工作者呼唤求助。《快乐的啰嗦》、《草笠舞》正是这样应运而生的。

“啰嗦”彝语就是彝族的意思。他们聚居在四川大小凉山，一直生活在奴隶制下，连睡觉时都要戴上手铐脚镣，身背枷锁的生活那里有舞蹈可言！解放后废除了奴隶制，舞蹈家冷茂弘亲眼目睹打开手铐脚镣时彝族同胞甩手甩脚那种狂喜的状态，被深深的感动，便以此为基础，加上彝族祭祀活动中“拐脚”、“荡裙”等动态特征，创作了《快乐的啰嗦》，因为准确地表现了彝族同胞的性格和心声，被彝族同胞一致公认，一下子传遍大江南北，从此从无到有，创建了彝族舞蹈，现在彝族舞已经成为中国民族舞中富有特色的一个大宗。



 同样，《草笠舞》也是专业舞人精心创造的。那时全国舞蹈比赛频繁，生活在海南的黎族也希望能有代表自己民族的舞蹈参加。长期生活在黎族聚居地的舞蹈家陈翘根据黎族妇女心灵手巧，善于编织的特点，以及爱叉腰、甩手、出胯、顺拐等体态，创作了《草笠舞》。

回族的《花儿与少年》也是我跳的领舞，根据青海的“花儿”创作的音乐非常好听，那摇头晃脑的动作更是潇洒，这些都是我喜爱的节目。

总之，有的抓住某民族舞蹈原生形态的审美特质，予以强化，使民间舞蹈从田野形态转化成为精致的具有观赏价值的舞台艺术精品；有的通过现代人的视角开掘古老民俗的现时性意义，创造出崭新的，能反映体现该民族气质、意蕴的新舞种。它们如一幅幅“风情画”，再现了各个民族人民生活的新场景。50、60年代的舞蹈工作者们正是这样以“艰苦奋斗、自强不息，承前启后、开拓创新”的精神，为中国民族民间舞蹈的开辟出一片新天地的。才从无到有，使中国的民族舞蹈灿若繁星，成为世界上舞蹈艺术最丰富的国家。


(注）我在美国为学生排的《鄂尔多斯》、《快乐的啰嗦》、《草笠舞》

其中我最喜欢的要数朝鲜舞和傣族舞。



我觉得朝鲜舞最能代表东方人体文化。它优美典雅，柔和而悠长。最大的特点是呼吸，是来自于中国元气自然论的“气息”。庄子说：“人之生，气之聚也。聚则为生，散则为死。”中国认为人的始基是“气”，这是中国人体文化不同于西方最突出最有代表性的标志。朝鲜舞就是把这个“气”贯穿于整个舞蹈的始终，贯穿于身体的各个部位，用吐纳把握住内在力量，掌控内在感情以及形与神的统一。气的长短、轻重、缓急等提供了丰富细腻的内心节奏，甚至细腻到手指，脚腕，脚趾。于是动起来松弛自如，潇洒流畅，静下来婀娜多姿，仪态万方。不管刚劲跌岩也好，含蓄深沉也好。都能达到一阴一阳相互平衡，从中间我们可以清楚地感觉到儒家“中庸”思想的影子，恰到好处的状态造就了朝鲜舞沉静、稳重、和谐、含蓄之美。



而翱翔在所有这些舞蹈精灵头顶的是《孔雀》。高高的山岗上一只孔雀骄傲地展开它美丽的尾羽，一冲而下——饮水、照影、沐浴，然后翩翩起舞……。孔雀是傣族人民的图腾，是吉祥、幸福的象征，孔雀舞几乎成了傣族舞蹈的代表。但我们演《孔雀舞》却经历了一场不小的地震，标志着民族舞蹈发展中一场伟大的革命。原来过去流传在傣族民间传统的《孔雀舞》，一概由男性表演，身上背着象征翅膀的沉重道具，大大妨碍了作为舞蹈之根本的人体的自由发挥。

当时中央歌舞团的编导金明（也是《红绸舞》的编导）大胆地去掉了笨重的木制翅膀，改由女子表演。同时把傣族妇女平时穿的筒裙改为像孔雀尾羽一样的大裙子。这个新《孔雀舞》一经面世就美得炫目，惊艳了所有人。没想到一群保守者却跳出来，说这些大胆的革新有悸于民族传统，破坏了民族团结，甚至说腿抬得这么高是侮辱傣族妇女而大加鞭挞。但革新的潮流势不可挡，这里还在争论不休，《孔雀舞》已经在世界上一举夺冠，得了金奖。

(注）我为中美舞蹈社排的《朝鲜扇舞》和《孔雀舞》。