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Balance of Grace and Strength: Chinese Folk Dancing in South Louisiana By Guiyuan Wang (王桂园) Folk Dances of China / Chinese Folk Dancers n South Louisiana
Folk Dances of China Like Tai Chi, ping-pong, and badminton, folk dancing is a popular exercise in China, especially outdoors. It might be interesting, if not strange, in the United States to see a crowd of people, loosely organized, dancing early in the morning or at dusk after dinner in a public space, but in China, it is not at all uncommon. Chinese people love to dance in parks or community playgrounds, or any big rooms available. No "club" fee is required. Someone will bring a CD player, and the best dancers always are in the front row so those who forget moves do not need to worry about getting behind. China is one of the largest countries in the world. Regional cultures thrive in their own natural and social settings. China also has 56 ethnic groups. These distinctive peoples have all brushed their colors on the cultural landscape and painted a splendid mosaic of China. There is no single "Chinese Culture," but rather many regional and ethnic cultures. The great diversity has given birth to a large number of traditional dances, a gold mine for folk dancers to explore. Roughly speaking, Chinese dances can be separated into two groups: ethnic dances and classical dances. Among the 56 ethnic groups, Han Chinese are the majority and make up about 91 percent of the total population. Han culture has abundant classical arts and regional variations of folk arts, representative of local geography and social history. For instance, Han folk dances that originated in Northern China tend to be bolder and more energetic, reflecting the regional characteristics, while southern folk dances are dainty and elegant, much like the classical literature from that area. Chinese classical dances, the result of thousands of years of professional dancing in China, are part of the mainstream Han Chinese culture. They embody traditional Chinese aesthetics and dancing skills and now are reinforced by modern dancing techniques. These dances are derived from the same root as Chinese martial arts, focusing very much on control—the control of releasing power and drawing back at will. Chinese classical dance actually is a martial art accompanied by traditional music and costumes. Although real classical dances are difficult for non-professional dancers, they are irresistible to Chinese folk dancers. Many classical dances have been creatively tailored into folk versions, which are practical for folk dancers. They are referred to as folk classical dances in this research. Usually the most difficult moves are cut out, the music shortened, and the lineup rearranged. The 56 ethnic groups of China have dances that are created by real people based on their real lives. These dances are referred to as ethnic dances. The 55 ethnic groups make up nine percent of the total population, but their cultures are anything but minor. As the "minorities" of a country of more than 1.3 billion people, their populations are sizable compared to the minorities in many other countries. For example, there are more than 16 million Zhuang people and 10 million Manchu people living in China. The 55 minority groups are mostly exempt from China's one-child policy, so their cultural influences increase as their populations grow. Their cultures are distinctive and their dances are a major component of Chinese folk dances.
Many folk dancers have learned the well-known ethnic dances, including Tibetan dances, Mongolian dances, Dai dances, Korean dances, Miao dances, and dances from the Xinjiang Province (northwestern China) and Yunnan Province (southwestern China), both known for their diverse nationalities. Due to the population structure of China, many Han Chinese do folk dances of other groups. In this way, the majority learns from the minorities, and the dances of a minority, as part of their cultural legacy, are supported, appreciated, and preserved not solely by the people themselves. On the surface, folk classical dances and ethnic dances are different and not to be compared, but the concept behind them is the same. Traditional Chinese philosophy is all about balance—the balance of Yin and Yang, the balance of female and male, and in modern China, the balance of new and old as well as the balance of East and West. Likewise, Chinese folk dances can be seen as the pursuit of the balance of grace and strength, softness and boldness, elegance and vigor, delicacy and magnificence, and dynamic moves and static states. The folk classical dance "Peach Blossom (桃夭)" presented by the Baton Rouge Chinese Sunshine Dance Group is a perfect example. This Chinese classical dance is based on a poem from a Chinese classical literature The Book of Poetry (诗经) of the pre-Qin times (before 221 B.C.). Its poses and gestures draw on the dance images and figures that survived in the brick paintings of the Han dynasty (200 A.D.). The young ladies of ancient China represented in the dance are likened to peach blossoms as described in the poem.
Chinese Folk Dancers in South Louisiana Baton Rouge and New Orleans are the two major cities in south Louisiana where Chinese folk dancers practice and perform on a regular basis for traditional Chinese holiday celebrations and international cultural events. Three well-organized groups are the Chinese Sunshine Dance Group in Baton Rouge, the dancers of Chinese Friendship Association in Baton Rouge, and the dancers of the Academy of Chinese Studies in New Orleans. I am a dancer of the Sunshine Dance Group. Also, a few individual dancers are located in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Houma.
In Baton Rouge, Chinese folk dancers have been active and known for several years. The Sunshine Dance Group was formed in the summer of 2005 when the team leader Xiaomei Seal (黄小梅) and some other dancers decided to practice on a regular basis. According to Jenny Hsia Chen (夏自珍), one of the original team members, only four of them were at the beginning. Currently almost twenty dancers practice with the team. The Sunshine Dance Group has performed in Baton Rouge and New Orleans for several international events (the Annual International Heritage Festival, the International Cooking Competition, and the 2008 World Cultural Economic Forum), Chinese holiday celebrations (the Annual Celebration Gala of Spring Festival and Annual Celebration Gala of Moon Festival), and several local schools: Fall Fest of International Language School, Flavor of the World held by the Baton Rouge international school, anniversary of Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana State University International Student Association's silent auction and LSU Christmas Candle Lightening Event. They have performed at a special production focusing on the Baton Rouge Center for World Affairs and its international programs by the Around Town TV studio. The dancers were also invited to perform for the Chinese New Year celebration of Rice University and Spring Festival Celebration of Houston Shandong Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
The Chinese folk dances performed by the Sunshine Dance Group include folk classical dances "Peach Blossom (桃夭)" and "Dancing on the Fan (扇舞丹青)," and ethnic dances of Miao, Mongolian, Tibetan, Dai, Korean, Uighur, and Han people such as "Bai a Bai (摆呀摆)," "Heaven (天堂)," and "Zhuo Mo (堂嫫)." The dancers also organize children's folk dances as well. Although the children are not counted as "official" team members, they are the most adorable and their performances are eye-catching on the stage.
In New Orleans, the Academy of Chinese Studies plays an important role in the preservation of Chinese cultures. The current principal is Rongyi Zhou (周荣懿). The school's mission is to continue the Chinese education for children of Chinese descendents and to advance the awareness and understandings of Chinese culture. Based on this platform, two dance teams, one of young students and one of teachers and parents, practice and perform regularly. The dancers of the Academy have performed for the Annual Asian Heritage Festival held by the Asian Pacific American Society of New Orleans and several Chinese New Year/Spring Festival Celebration Galas. Different from the Sunshine Dance Group in Baton Rouge, the Academy of Chinese Studies in New Orleans focuses more on the education of the younger generation. In the academic year of 2008-2009, the school had 130 students, including about 10 adult students, 110 children of Chinese immigrant families, and 10 children students of non-Chinese background. For the 2009 Asian Heritage Festival, held by the Asian Pacific Society of New Orleans, the school performed "Yunan Lantern (云南花灯)" and "The Beautiful Grassland (美丽的大草原)."
One of the dance teachers, Ping An (安平), says that in order to acquaint the children with the diversity of Chinese cultures and ethnicities, ethnic dances from Tibet and Xinjiang are often chosen. These two regions are famous for the diverse ethnicities of Tibetan, Uighur, Uzbek, Kazakh, Mongol, Xibe, Kirghiz, Daur, Tajik, Uzbek, Russian, and Tartar people. Parents and teachers practice and perform for cultural events as well. The dance practices and performances have been organized by the enthusiastic school officials and teachers and supported by parents for over three years. There are some individual dancers. Two examples are Ting Nicole Landry (张婷) in Houma and Marilyn M. Li (李孟蓉) in New Orleans. Ting graduated from an art college in China, majoring in folk music and also does folk dancing. She came to the United States in 2007 and now in 2009 lives in Houma, Louisiana. Marilyn Li (李孟蓉) came to the U.S. in 1980 and has been working as a medical geneticist and pediatrician at Tulane University Medical Center. It is not that the dancer prefers not to join a dance group. The Chinese community in Houma is small and Ting has no fellow dancers in town. She has to occasionally join the dancing activities of the Academy of Chinese Studies in New Orleans. Marilyn stays as an individual dancer because she has found other Chinese dancers in her social circle. Next - The Fun / The Difficulties
Guiyuan Wang (王桂园) is a cultural anthropologist and archaeologist with Coastal Environments, Inc. and member of the Baton Rouge Chinese Sunshine Dance Group. She did this research as part of the New Populations Project in 2009. |
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