Zhuang Dance

Back in 2004, I noticed an advertisement (right) for a traditional dance show of the local Zhuang minority people. It was to be performed by a Nanning based troupe.

So, off I trotted to the local theatre to buy some nice tickets. Unfortunately, I was too  early - the booking office hadn't received them yet. Which was lucky.

The very next day, I received a phone call from a friend who works for the local government who said,

"My department has been allocated tickets for a Zhuang dance show and no one wants to go. Do you want them?"

A few minutes later I was the happy possessor of five tickets.

My wife, my sister-in-law, a couple of family friends and I went to see the performance. The dancing and music was excellent. Balletic, energetic, beautiful  and highly symbolic.  A fine time was had by all.

The song and dance suite tells the story of a group of Zhuang people who wonder what lies at the end of the sky. A young pregnant woman decides to go to find out. The journey takes her the rest of her life and en-route a son is born. On his mother's death, he takes over the never-ending journey.

I'm happy to say that I have found a video of a 6½ minute excerpt from the show, which I am delighted to share. Please note the first 1½ minutes are deliberately silent.

tags: china  guangxi  laowai  liuzhou  zhuang  中国  广西  柳州  dance  music  

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