Chopsticks Dance
Updated: 2018-05-08 Print
It got the name of "Chopsticks Dance" because dancers are known to knock chopsticks as an accompaniment. It is a folk dance for entertainment that is primarily popular in Otog Front Banner, Otog Banner, Uxin Banner and Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos.
In Ordos, at the climax of a wedding or celebration festival, people begin to dance with chopsticks, to folk music played on flute, sihu, sanxian, yangqin and Mongolian zheng. While shaking their bodies in different positions of kneeling, sitting or standing, dancers knock themselves on the hands, arms, shoulders, backs, waists, legs and feet, or sometimes the ground, with chopsticks in their right hand. The dancers are very passionate and swift to the lively rhythm.
Mongolians found out that chopsticks are very easy to drop during the dance, so they strung chopsticks in one end and decorated it with red silk, making them exquisite props that dancers can hold in one or both hands. These have enhanced the expression of the dance form and helped its growth.
People dressed solemnly dancing to a sprightly rhythm in swift moves, reveals the honesty, passion, courage and open mindedness of Mongols, while also showcasing their straightforward and wild nature. This is primarily the reason why the dance has strong ethnic features and high value in culture and arts.