Batang Xianzi Dance [Sichuan Batang Specialty]

What is Batang String Dance? Authentic Sichuan Batang Specialty: Batang String Dance

Summary:Do you want to know what Batang String Dance is? This article is a detailed introduction to the Sichuan Batang specialty - Batang Xianzi Dance. It was compiled and edited by the editorial team of China Specialty Network after reviewing and collecting relevant information on Batang Xianzi Dance. The full text takes about 11 minutes to read, mainly including the basic introduction of Batang Xianzi Dance and the product characteristics of Batang Xianzi Dance? Wait

Basic Introduction to Batang Xianzi Dance

Batang Xianzi Dance is a beautiful and lyrical Tibetan dance with the characteristics of "long sleeves and good dancing". During the performance, several men hold the stringed instrument "Biwang" (huqin) to play the leading dance in front of the team. The other dancers sang and danced with them

Xianzi, also known as "Xie", "Ye", "Baye", is a unique Tibetan huqin, usually played by men. Xianzi Dance, also commonly known as "Xianzi", is a comprehensive Tibetan song and dance art that combines singing, dancing, and music with the accompaniment of musical instruments. Xianzi dance is distributed in eastern Xizang and Tibetan inhabited areas in Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai, etc. During the performance, the man pulls the strings and the woman dances with colorful sleeves. As the rhythm of the strings changes, the singing and dancing movements vary. The lyrics of Xianzi mostly consist of welcoming, meeting, praising, expressing affection, bidding farewell, and wishing; There are numerous melodies, rich lyrics, and varied dance steps. During the dance, the male and female dance teams form half a circle, sometimes gathering in circles, sometimes dispersing, and sing and dance together; The key to men's dance posture lies in their boots and stomping feet, showcasing the beauty of boldness and roughness; The woman highlights the gentle and stretching beauty of long sleeves

Form of expression

Batang Xianzi is a comprehensive art that integrates poetry, qin, song, and dance, with the qin player as the core and the rhythm of the entire string controlled by the qin player. Dancing the Batang string is not limited by the number of people or the venue. Under the guidance of the string and beard hand, the male leads the female in the front, while the female follows the custom of being good dancers and elders in the front. They form a circle in a clockwise direction and dance in a clockwise direction. The lead string and beard hand controls the rhythm and the ups and downs of the entire string dance. At the beginning of the string dance, the lead string and beard hand introduces all the participating dancers to dance to a specific rhythm while singing in a loop. The speed of the dance gradually increases from slow to fast, pushing the dance to climax. At the end of the string dance, all the participating dancers shout out "harmony" in unison, which means dancing well and having fun. After a brief rest, when the lead dancer's stringed arm pulled up another piece of music, the dancers danced gracefully again. Batang Xianzi usually appears in two forms, one is accompanied by a stringed erhu (equivalent to an instrument of the erhu) as a dance team dances. The way is for the qin player to lead (i.e. the lead dancer), and the number of people is not limited to as few as one or two, or as many as ten or so. After the lead dancer, there are several male dancers, followed by female dancers who also show mutual respect based on differences in dance skills and tone. The boy dancers danced together to the melody played by the qin player, followed by singing and dancing. A string (program) dances in circles to the left and repeats itself. The rhythm usually starts from slow to fast and ends with a passionate atmosphere pushing the entire piece to a climax and concluding a single string. Another form is without any instrumental accompaniment, usually performed alternately by male and female dancers. Most of the instruments used in Ganbatang strings in this form are the huqin. The first huqin was made by a string artist using Maocun horns to make the barrel, sheepskin to cover the surface, branches to make the bow, and ponytails to make the bowstring and strings. Later, someone changed the horn shaped qin tube to a round wooden qin tube, which has been passed down to this day. The qin head is often decorated with a dragon head or a pagoda top, symbolizing auspiciousness. This type of huqin has pure sound quality, thick and deep tone, which is suitable for playing when jumping between ten moves and easy to make, and is deeply loved by qin players

Core movements

In the core movements of Batang Xianzi Dance, there are several characteristics.

A. The basic characteristics of Xianzi Dance are mainly to sway the colored sleeves in three steps, swing the long sleeves lightly, and lift the leg. The colored sleeves are the basic characteristics of Xianzi Dance. Three steps and one bend are the basic movements in Xianzi Dance steps.

B. The commonly seen one handed bending ribs, light sleeve support, rotation, stepping, and slight head swing in the combination are all self composed parts of the Batang String Dance rhythm

C. The swinging, covering, and supporting rules of the upper limb water sleeve movements are another characteristic of the rich posture and beautiful movements of the Batang string dance

D. The common step by step rotation movement forms a coordinated combination rule of lightly throwing the sleeve cover and turning the sleeve by step, trembling the knee and following the waist

Emotional Characteristics

The style presented by ethnic and folk dances is not only an external form or the direction and angle of each move, but also a mood, attitude, and demeanor from the inside out. Capturing is also a unique aesthetic trend of a nation, which contains its own values and aesthetic views. Just as different ethnic groups have different judgments on the value of beauty, some consider charm as beauty, some consider "coquettishness" as beauty, some consider gentleness as beauty, some consider simplicity as beauty, some consider boldness as beauty, and some consider strength as beauty. Tibetan women, on the other hand, embody the beauty of leisure, humility, and simplicity in the aesthetic standards of the Batang people, while also incorporating some elements of the Kangba people's optimism, resilience, and boldness. Therefore, when dancing the Batang string dance, leisure, harmony, humility, simplicity, optimism, and lyricism are aesthetic orientations that we should focus on grasping. When dancing the Batang string dance, we should pay special attention to an aesthetic view that is beautiful but not charming, humble but not oppressive, bold but not ostentatious, and leisurely but not relaxed. These aesthetic values are directly reflected in the body culture conveyed by dancers, and the scale of these aesthetics is easily overlooked in the current teaching process. For example, excessive emphasis on the twisting of the hips, excessive stretching of the upper body, excessive swinging of the waist and ribs, unstable knees, and high hand axis all reflect our failure to accurately grasp the culture and mentality of a nation. These are precisely the cultural connotations conveyed by the body language that we cannot ignore when inheriting national art. Therefore, to grasp the emotional characteristics of a nation, it is necessary to rely on the overall cultural background of the nation and capture its unique ethnic charm

Artistic crystallization

Batang string dance is the crystallization of the wisdom of the Batang people. The Batang Xianzi Dance embodies a profound national culture and reflects a rich ethnic flavor, with high academic and artistic value. In May 2000, the Ministry of Culture officially named Batang County as the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art". The Batang string, with thousands of pieces, has become the greatest treasure of Tibetan folk music. It is the best preserved "living fossil" of Tibetan music, and its music and lyrics have permeated into various other Tibetan literary arts. Protecting the Batang string is of great significance for protecting Tibetan song and dance art and studying Tibetan culture

"Three steps, one lift, one step, one leaning" is the basic rhythmic characteristic of Batang string dance, and its movements such as chest holding, knee trembling, and long sleeved wrapping, supporting, lifting, and covering form different regional dance characteristics. During festive occasions, people gather in "Linka" (open spaces in the forest) or on dams to dance string dances, regardless of gender or number, during gatherings, camping, or labor. String music generally consists of three parts: prelude, interlude, and coda. The music is gentle yet firm, beautiful and lyrical, with a rhythm rich in dance