"Twist your waist, turn around, good! On February 15, in the former Guocun Square of Shazhen Town, Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City, the dragon dance members in the village were performing. This Spring Festival, the dragon dance team received a lot of invitations to perform, and there were performances almost every day.
Former Guocun dragon dance members are performing.
This was not the case with them in previous years. "The history of dragon dance in our village dates back to the middle of the Qing Dynasty and has been around for more than 200 years. Guo Changgao, the captain of the dragon dance team, said, "In the 90s of the last century, due to economic and other reasons, young people went out to work, and the dragon dance team was disbanded. ”
In the past, almost every household in the village would dance the dragon, and as soon as the organizer struck the gong in the village, everyone would come out to participate. Guo Changgao said that he liked dragon dance performances since he was a child, and joined the dragon dance team in the village at the age of fourteen or fifteen. "At that time, I was young and light, and when I performed on a mountain of people, as soon as the people below joined forces to send me off, I went to the top. ”
Guo Changgao performed for five or six years, and the dragon dance team was disbanded, and he always felt very regretful. In 2021, he went to a neighbor's house to help, saw the big drums and gongs in the house, and thought that now that the economic conditions are better and he has free time, he contacted several teammates from the former dragon dance team to see if he can pick up this skill again.
After discussion, everyone felt that the dragon dance team could be reorganized. Guo Changgao said, "The villagers are also very supportive, and they have taken the initiative to donate money, and we have raised more than 20,000 yuan at once, and repurchased dragon dances, drums, cymbals and other performance props." ”
The money was not enough, so the dragon dance team members figured out their own way, provided materials with materials at home, and had the skills to make them, and finally set up the "grass stage team". "I didn't expect the first performance to attract more than 1,000 people**, and even villagers more than 10 kilometers away came to cheer, which also gave us the confidence to continue the performance. Guo Changgao said.
The dragon dance in our village is 28 meters long and is divided into 9 sections, each of which is controlled by 1 person, plus the controller of the Dragon Ball, a total of 10 people participate in the performance. Guo Xiangxue, the big drummer of the dragon dance team, said, "The dragon dance performance is accompanied by drums, gongs, cymbals and other musical instruments, and the rhythm is distinct. The instrumental performance is clear and clear, and the sound is distinct, which can be heard in the village one or two kilometers away. ”
From left) Guo Xianglin, Guo Xiangxue, and Guo Changgao are practicing their performances.
The dragon dance performance of Qianguo Village is characterized by rich content. First of all, the dragon dance opened, and the "golden dragon" soared and soared, circled and rolled for a while, and then formed the "dragon gate"; The performers of stilt Yangge entered the venue from the "Dragon Gate", dancing and singing for more than 40 minutes; Then, floats and clusters of flowers appeared; followed by a series of folk fun performances, such as "Two Ghost Wrestling", "Jiang Gong Carrying Jiang Po", "Gong Guan", etc.; Finally, the dragon dance appeared again to bring the show to an end. The whole process is lively and lasts three or four hours.
The members of the dragon dance team are all versatile. Guo Xiangwei is 80 years old this year, not only can dance dragons, but also can step on stilts and dance Yangge. "Yangge on stilts is not just about kung fu on the feet, the whole body has to move, and each movement has to be practiced hundreds of times on the ground before it can be performed on stilts. Guo Xiangwei said that during the performance, you should have eye contact with the audience, and there should be music in your mouth. As he spoke, he sang a paragraph: "In the west of Tianjin, there is a beautiful woman named Bai Xiuying......”
Guo Xiangwei sang a piece of "Painting Fan".
Today, there are more than 40 people in the former Guocun Dragon Dance Team, and most of them are over 50 years old. "It's not that young people don't like these now, the main thing is that they have to go to work and don't have time to study. Guo Changgao said that stepping on stilts has a strong fun, and many children are very interested, "Two days ago, a 5-year-old child sang "Embroidery Needle Prick" with us. ”
Some members of the dragon dance team gathered in Guo Changgao's hut to discuss how to add new elements to the performance.
With the development of the times, Guo Changgao and the team members continue to add new elements to their performances to make the movements younger, and they also broadcast live on the Internet. "I hope that more people can see this intangible cultural heritage and pass it on. Guo Changgao said that the former Guo village people love dragon dance, not only because it is the accumulation of ancestral culture, but also because the dragon is the embodiment of auspiciousness, representing them to move towards a better future.
Li Zhaoxing, a mass reporter from the public newspaper and rural areas.