In the 3rd China Dance Excellent Works Collection, six exceptional dance works from Yunnan were successfully included. The selected works are as follows (listed in no particular order): Posing Out a Spring, Peace, Fire Pond, Rainforest, Rainforest, Cradle of Life, and Ox·String·Love. These works, with their distinctive artistic charm and creativity, have been successfully shortlisted for the National Folk Dance Award of the 13th and 14th China Dance "Lotus Awards" as well as the National Dance Performance. This accomplishment serves as a significant milestone for Yunnan's dance industry, showcasing the province's vibrant and diverse ethnic culture while providing fresh perspectives and inspiration for the creation and dissemination of national dance.
Among these, the two works Cradle of Life and Ox·String·Love are original dance productions by Yunnan Arts University (YNAU).
The original creation, Cradle of Life, produced by the Dancing School of YNAU, draws inspiration from the imagery of the cradle, incorporates an umbrella as a prop, and uses the rotation of living forms as its starting point. By depicting human and object imagery within the tropical rainforest, it portrays the emotions of Earth's creatures across different environmental spaces, showcasing a poetic purity and beauty. This is a realistic dance work of the Dai ethnicity that highlights themes of national unity and the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. This piece was a small stage play program and a creation funded by the China National Arts Fund in 2024. It was shortlisted in the final review for ethnic and folk dances at the 14th China Dance "Lotus Awards" and won the first prize at the 2nd Yunnan Original Dance Exhibition and Performance.
The piece Ox·String·Love by the art school affiliated with YNAU takes inspiration from Tibetan farming culture. It tells the pastoral tales of "ox cultivation civilization" and "emotion conveyed through songs accompanied by stringed instruments" using the language of dance. The piece employs the "ox" to symbolize the industrious and resilient national spirit, the "string" as a metaphor for the bloodline of cultural continuity, and "emotion" to forge profound resonance between humanity and nature, and between tradition and modernity. Adopting a stage design that blends virtuality with reality, the presentation uses contrasts in lighting and costume colors to reflect the depth of agricultural civilization and the vitality of ethnic spirit. The musical arrangement skillfully merges Tibetan folk instruments with modern electronic soundscapes, creating a narrative that bridges the dimensions of time and space through both visual and auditory elements. It has been honored with the Outstanding Program Award at the 16th Yunnan New Opera Exhibition and Performance and selected as an annual stage art creation project funded by the China National Arts Fund in 2023. Furthermore, it has received the 9th Yunnan Literary and Art Award (Yunnan Dance Golden Peacock Ethnic and Folk Dance Award) of the Yunnan Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
In the future, YNAU will remain committed to its original aspiration of "art for the people", fulfill its cultural mission, and continuously enhance the creation and production of cultural and artistic works. It will make significant contributions to its high-quality development and the development of Yunnan into a thriving province known for its excellence in education.
