Yao music, dance and folk songs are deeply rooted into daily labor life and mirror various religious influences. Dozens of dances thrive among them, such as Long Drum Dance, Lion Dance, Grass Dragon Dance and Stick Dance. Long Drum Dance, in particular, has become their cultural symbol. Yao songs fall into labor songs, wine songs, love songs and mourning songs…The song “When You Believe” recorded by Whitney Houston and Marian Carey is renowned worldwide. However, few people know its first 18 notes were inspired by Dance of the Yao People(瑶族舞曲), one of the most successful and trendy songs marking the 1950s. The Chorus of Panwang King《盘王歌》with 24 qupai is quite challenging to the performer and refreshing to the outsiders.
As an indispensible part of Yao people, the time-honored Long Drum Dance is immortalized by Quyuan over two thousand years ago. Grand occasions and festivals such as ancestral worship, wedding, Yao New Year Festival, Panwang Festival, Harvest Festival and (Shuagetang耍歌堂) won’t be complete without it. During these periods, Yao villages will be haunted by their melodious voices and Yao people will indulge in fun to their hearts’ content.
Long Drum Dance is a hybrid of singing, dancing and performances. It epitomizes Yao people’s daily labor life and mimics the gestures of animals and birds, such as the fluttering butterflies, the lively birds and rebellious goats.
To perform Long Drum Dance, Yao people pair up in two or four. The tunes vary from pensive and melancholy to joyful and ecstatic, serving to memorizing their ancestors and praising the beauty of life and love. The dance steps are expressive and robust, which shed light on typical Yao people’s daily labor activities such as build wooden houses, grind the rice and toil the rice fields. Blending the gestures of animals and birds, it is comic and entertaining also.