|
She has been portraying herself as a peacock on
stage for more than 30 years. People are fascinated with her stage charisma
and dazzling appearance.
Recently, she directed and choreographed a smash hit
dance drama, which attracted a lot of attention from
the public.
Claiming dance is her language, the dancer will stage a large-scale
dance drama called Dynamic Yunnan in Shenzhen for five days from Sept. 1
to 5.
She is Yang Liping, a household name and renowned dancer in China.
The dance drama, titled Dynamic Yunnan, is a panoramic depiction of the
colorful lives of ethnic groups from Yunnan Province through singing and
dancing on stage. The dancers are farmers from all parts of Yunnan who
have not received much professional training, while San Bao, a renowned
music producer in China, directed the music. The drama has been an instant
success since it opened in Kunming City, capital of Yunnan Province.
Based on the Dai people’s folk dance, which imitates the peacock,
Yang’s dance highlights the vitality and elegance of the bird. She is the
one who makes the peacock, a noble creature admired by the Dai people,
live on stage.
She has won many prestigious awards for her peacock dance and has been
dubbed the Peacock Princess, but her success was not easy to come by.
Born in a Bai ethnic group family about 45 years ago, Yang grew up in a
divorced family. She began to support her mother at an early age, raising
sheep and cattle. She also had to look after younger sisters and brothers.
Dancing was the only way she could express her feelings, whether happy or
sad. As every kid her age did, Yang enjoyed dancing barefoot in her spare
time after work on the farm.
Soon, villagers found the girl was gifted in dancing and expected her
to become the village “bimo,” a witch who danced and chanted spells to
expel evil spirits. But when she was 12 years old, Yang was recruited to a
local performance troupe in the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture of
Yunnan Province.
Fifteen years later, in 1986, she became well-known overnight for her
individual dance Spirit of Peacock in a national contest and ever since
she has been dubbed “Peacock Princess.”
Few know that Yang has never received any academic training, she even
refused to be trained professionally. All her dances are derived from her
ethnic roots. She said: “I didn’t get academic training, nor did I want
to. Practical knowledge comes from life. The academic methodology will
distort my unique vision and personality.”
In addition, she considers dancing a sacred ritual and a necessity of
life, rather than a means of making a living.
“My grandmother told me that singing and dancing is one way we live and
express ourselves. She is a typical example. When my grandfather died, she
sang for three days and nights about his life, their love stories and
mourning.
“People of ethnic groups are passionate about
singing and dancing. They sing and dance to celebrate the harvest. They
also sing or dance to woo
loved ones. On important festivals, men and women will dance continuously.
They drink wine and dance, get drunk, wake up and dance again. This is the
culture where I am from. I inherited a passion for dancing, dancing is in
my blood. This is the difference between me and other dancers,” Yang said.
Long hair and fingernails are known as the symbol of the Peacock
Princess and are essential aspects of her dance.
“Long hair enables me to change my appearance for different scenes, and
long fingernails make my fingers appear longer under the stage light,” she
said. When asked what she considers essential, Yang replies concisely
“dancing.”
"Flowing water in rivers does not stay but stones do." Yang used the
song of Bai ethnic group to make an analogy of her attitude about love.
“If you love him, you must make him happy. If he doesn’t love you, you
should not hang on to him. I am very lucky to love my husband and have his
love. He isn't mad at me because I don’t want to have children. I have no
regrets and will not in the future. My life passes by through dance, the
art I am dedicated to,” Yang said.
Beginning Wednesday, Yang will lead various ethnic group performers to
stage a large-scale dance drama conceived and produced by her.
To prepare the dance drama Yang visited nearly every village in Yunnan
for over two years to look for talented performers. At first, she was not
clear about what she wanted the whole thing to look like.
She had to follow her artistic imagination and weave the plot step by
step. She also encountered financial problems for this dance drama and had
to sell her house in Dali. But Yang eventually overcame all her
difficulties and created a landmark work that will be written into China’s
history of performance art.
(Shenzhen Daily) | 
Updated: 2004-09-01 14:14
