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| | Spring Buffalo Dance [edit this] | | The Spring Buffalo Dance is performed in every village by Spring Buffalo Dance Teams during the Spring Festival. It is a traditional dance that is very popular in the suburban area of Nanning (now Yongxing District) and the Yongning County. The Spring Buffalo Dance is a comprehensive performance. It borrows the style of the Tea Picking Dance, takes the advantage of local folk songs and the Wizard Dance. In the past, the Spring Buffalo Dance was an official spring sowing ceremony held to show the beginning of the spring plough season. This dance was a way for people to prayfor good weather and a good harvest. Nowadays, the Spring Buffalo Dance has become an entertainment event. A notice will be sent to the village half a day before the dancing team comes, on which it is written “Come celebrate and have a good time, the spring buffalo is coming to town”. The head of the village will inform every household as soon as he gets the notice. In the evening, the dancing team arrives. They will dance firstly in front of the temple. After the buffalo dancing, the tea pickers will sing songs to pray to the ancestors for their blessings. Then, they will go to the local Land God's temple and every household will dance again. In the performance, the tea pickers sing and dance with flower baskets in their hands, and the buffalo dances among them. They sing to praise goodness and criticize evil. Their performance often gains endless applauses from the audience. | Edit by: Tom | |
| Lion Dance [edit this] | | Chinese people regard the lion as the king of all beasts. It is the symbol of courage and invincibility. The Lion Dance is usually performed at every festivity and during the Spring Festival. The Lion Dance vividly demonstrates the ferocious and vivacious characters of the lion by the motions of rolling, skipping, and shaking of the head and the tail. The Lion Dance itself is performed by two dancers——one at the head and one at the tail of the lion. The dance is usually performed by two dancers: one is brandishing the upper part of the lion and the other one swaying the tail of the lion. Some other dancers who wear monk and monkey masks are accompanying. The main demonstrations include the monk playing with the lion, the monkey jumping at the lion, and the lion playing with a ball. The Lion Dance is also popular among the Han, the Zhuang and the Yao peoples. | Edit by: Tom | |
| Phoenix Dance [edit this] | | The Phoenix Dance is one of the Zhuang folk dances in Hengxian County. The dancing is performed by a man and a lady. The lady plays the parts of “Feng”, that is, a female phoenix, and the man plays the parts of “Huang”, the male phoenix. The extended winds of phoenixes are on the performer's hip, hung by a colorful belt on the performer's shoulders. In front of the phoenix, another pair of male and female performers is acting as the phoenix guiders, with colorful fans in their hands. Two horn players and a drum team play traditional music for the dancers at back. All the performers are dancing the cross steps in colorful clothes and scarves with Zhuang characteristics. The phoenix dance is a very enjoyable dance. Because phoenix represents happiness and good luck in the Zhuang culture, the phoenix dance is often performed to pray for luck in major festivals, such as the Spring Festival, the Song Fair, and at wedding and harvest ceremonies. | Edit by: Tom | |
| Dancing Lion up the Golden Hill [edit this] | | In the eyes of the Zhuang, Lion is looked as an auspicious sign. The performances of the Lion Dancing of the Zhuang include a “lion” performing on the high stage, two “lions” playing with one ball together, a “lion” performing on the Meihua posts and crossing a suspension bridge a “lion” dancing on the knifepoint and a “lion” dancing up the “Golden Hill”. The “Golden Hill” is composed of 35 benches built up in 17 layers, reaching a height of 8.5 meters. When the performers dress up as “lions” and step on the “Golden Hill”, they jump, fly and dance on the dangerously unstable hill. The whole performance is thrilling, attractive and humorous, making the audience react with surprise and delight. | Edit by: Tom | |
| Hengxian County Fair and Folk Ballad [edit this] | | Hengxian is a gathering location of the communities of the the the Xiouluoyue, Wuxu, Li, Liao and Zhuang ethnic groups. There they have the custom of “song flourishing” and “singing adoring” for all ages folk song festivals called “County Fairs” by Zhuang Ethnic Group, or “Folk Song Fairs” named by Han people. The fair with the greatest reputation is the Fubomiao Folk Song Festival, which is held at the foot of Wumanshan hill on April 14th according to the lunar calendar. On that day, about 30 to 40 thousands of people from Nanning, Yongning, Binyang, Wuming, Qinzhou, Lingshan, Hepu, Pubei, Guigang and surrounding counties, as well as those from Hang Kong and Macao, gather together to make friends by singing together. The folk ballads are quite popular in Hengxian County and its 22 small villages and towns. The ballads in Hengxian can be classified into “working songs”, “celebrating songs”, “children’s songs” “religious songs”, “chanteys”, “funeral songs” and “love songs”. All of these ballads are springing forth from the mouths of local singers who are liable to burst into song at any moment. | Edit by: Tom | |
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