The Dati Circle Dance of the Yi Ethnic Minority in China
An excellent visual and audio resource
for learning and practicing the most popular Chinese ethnic dances today
“Dati” in Yi language means “treading earth and dancing.” With an elaborate redesign, this collection of DVD/ VCD/CD includes 13 selections of Dati circle dances and Ashyqie youth dances of the Yi ethnic minority in China, beautifully demonstrated and performed with wonderful melodies and great visual instruction. The DVD/VCD demonstrates the performance and teaches the techniques, while the CD contains the musical background. Mr. Jia Zuoguang, a well-known dancer throughout China, once said, “The Dati dance is simple, graceful, energetic, noble and unconstrained, representing traditional style and contemporary feature, reflecting the zeitgeist of the Yi People; it is a choreographic symbol of solidification and harmony, suggesting a wonderful substitution of international dance now, and develops a social dance in China.” In the spring of 1991, Mr. Wang Mingda, the deputy director of National Education Committee arrived in Liangshan Yi area for official inspection, he participated in a local Dati dance party in person, saying agreeably, “The Dati dance is very beautiful, an excellent collective dance genre with distinguished characteristics. Should Dati be the campus dance, and to be popularized widely in national universities and colleges, primary and junior high schools.” As an American anthropologist said, “Dancing around a bonfire on a cool night under the stars is a delightful form of entertainment.” So once you have mastered the movements, you can perform them with the proper music.
This visual-audio production is a colorful introduction to the art of Chinese ethnic dance among a diversity of living cultures, and brings a fantastic journey into the wonderful world of the Yi People’s indigenous tradition to your home.
The colorful Yi costumes have painted a magnificent poetry that invites dynamics of dance steps. Join the pageantry and grandeur of the Yi People’s Dati Circle Dance. Enjoy yourself!
Produced by
The People’s Government of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China
Xichang Yi Cultural Development and Communication Ltd. Co.
