Pure, simple and elegant dances of Nu Ethnic Group

The Nu nationality is good at singing and dancing. In Nu villages, even child that has just learned to walk can hum several sentences like learning to speak, and dance shapelessly. Mountain villages are sea of songs and dance. Their songs are endless and they dance ceaselessly. 

There are over 120 types of traditional dance of the Nus, which involves many aspects as history, religion, producing and living customs. Their dance has a strong character of imitation, the movement is rough, unconstrained, quick and powerful, and the rhythm is strongly accented. For example, there are dances reflecting animals’ habits and characteristics, such as Chicken Shakes Feet Dance, Hen Lays Eggs Dance, Crow Drinks Water Dance, Monkeys Fight Dance, Sheep fight Dance; There are dances reflecting producing and laboring, such as Excavating the Earth, Transplanting Seedlings Dance, Feeding Sheep in the open air Dance; There are dances reflecting love and marriage, such as Looking for Lover Dance, Amusing Dance, Meeting the Bride Dance, Escaping from Marriage Dance; And there are dances reflecting artistic life, such as Playing Pipa (a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard) Dance and Two Persons Pipa Dance.

After the establishment of the new China, on the basis of sorting out and excavating the national music and dance, the Nu literary and art workers absorbed and referred to methods and techniques of modern dance, and produced many songs and dances for singing the praises of the Communist Party, the new China and socialist new life, such as Songs out of the deepest heart, The Nujiang River is Singing, The Nu girls, Butterfly Dance, etc.