The Yi people's singing and dancing meals-"dancing dishes", that is, dancing to serve food. It is a unique form of serving food and the highest etiquette at banquets for Yi people in Wuliangshan and Ailaoshan, Yunnan, and it is a traditional food culture with a long history of perfect combination of dance, music, acrobatics and diet. "Jumping vegetables" is called "holding dish dance", which is commonly known as "carrying food dance". The performance process is divided into two forms: "banquet jumping vegetables" and "performance jumping vegetables". "Banquet jumping", also known as "field jumping", is an important celebration of Nanjian folk in life, adding a happy and peaceful atmosphere to celebration or joy; "Dancing vegetables" means dancing vegetables performed on the stage. According to the size of the venue, the number of actors can be increased or decreased from dozens to hundreds. The dance movements are bold and vigorous, and the voice is loud and clear.
"Tiaocai" has a long history. It is said that it evolved from the primitive matriarchal clan society, and it was mainly popular in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, it was a dance art performed by the Yi people in ancient times in worship of the emperor in the palace. Later, it gradually spread among the people, becoming the unique folk art of the Yi people and the wonderful food culture, and constituted the source of the national culture of Nanjian among the people. Jumping dishes have been passed down in Dali and Nanjian, Yunnan Province, and their performances remind reporters that from ancient times to the Han and Tang Dynasties in China, dance and music were often integrated with acrobatic art and food culture, adding color to each other, and they were in perfect harmony, preserving the original style and folk connotation handed down from ancient times to the present.
Art form
Generally, two people dance in pairs, one following the other, with different postures and changes, combining rigidity with softness, rotating freely, and constantly renovating trays full of dishes in their hands. With their heads, or with their hands, or with their shoulders, or riding on one person ... They sometimes "fly rubs their feet", sometimes "egrets stretch their legs", sometimes "Jin Lu looks at the moon" and sometimes "pheasants eat water", flipping their feet, striding around the table and competing for stunts. In the whole performance process, the most wonderful things are "giving food by mouth" and "jumping on the tower with empty hands". The "vegetable jumpers" put a bowl of vegetables on two big copper spoons tightly in their mouths, and the trays on their heads were also full of vegetables. They were smiling and full of enthusiasm, serving while jumping.
Classification of forms
This kind of dance can be divided into two categories: "jumping on the table" and "jumping on the stage".
1. Jumping vegetables during the dinner, also known as "jumping vegetables during the banquet" or "jumping vegetables on the spot", is the important occasion of Nanjian Yi people's wedding celebration, the completion of new houses, welcoming distinguished guests, giving birthdays to the elderly, etc., in order to increase the festive atmosphere and pay attention to "eating and being happy".
2. Dancing on the stage can be divided into "dancing on the stage" and "dancing on the square" according to the performance place or stage size. "Dancing vegetables on the stage" means dancing vegetables on the stage, all of which are performed by farmers of the Yi nationality in Nanjian. There are usually about 2 actors, up to 1 people. The dance moves are rough and bold, vigorous and powerful, and the voice is loud and bright. The number of "dancing vegetables in the square" actors ranges from dozens to hundreds, which embodies a magnificent, neat and harmonious artistic effect.