Liaoxi stilts yangko

Liaoning
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Stilts, also known as "stilt yangko", are a folk dance widely spread across the country. They are named because they are performed with both feet on wooden stilts. Stilts have a long history and originated from a technical performance in ancient acrobatics. There were stone carvings of people walking on stilts in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Stilts are generally performed in the form of a dance team, with dozens of people ranging from dozens to dozens of people. Most dancers play the roles of characters in ancient myths or historical stories, and their costumes imitate the costumes of operas. Common props include fans, handkerchiefs, wooden sticks, swords and guns, etc. There are two forms of performance: "walking on the street" and "falling on the stage". Falling on the stage, there are "big stage" where the dance team dances and walks in various formations and patterns, and "small stage" where two or three people perform. There are many male and female dances between roles, and sometimes they sing while dancing. The wooden stilts used in stilts in various places range from 30 cm to 300 cm, with different heights. From the performance style, they are divided into "civil stilts" and "martial stilts". Civil stilts focus on twisting and stepping and plot performance; martial stilts focus on showing off skills. According to historical records, Liaoxi stilts yangko has a history of more than 200 years. The characteristic of Liaoxi stilts yangko is the height of the stilts, the lowest of which is 90 cm, and the highest can reach 240 cm. The actors need to sit on the eaves and tie their legs. Because the stilts are high and elastic, the dancers must swing their arms up and down to maintain the balance of the whole body in order to perform freely, which constitutes the basic rhythm of the Liaoxi stilts "big dance". Also because of the high stilts, Liaoxi stilts yangko has formed techniques such as throwing, crossing, squatting, pinning, twisting, and forms such as beauty, waves, cuteness, gags, and teasing. The movements are chic and beautiful, and the scene is warm and hot. There are outstanding performance characteristics such as beauty in twisting, waves in beauty, cuteness in waves, gags in cuteness, and teasing in gags, which fully demonstrate the heroic character of the people of Liaoxi. Liaoxi stilts yangko has its own unique way of inheritance. The first is family inheritance, such as Zhu Xiufeng (born in 1840), the first generation inheritor of Santun Village, Daxue Township, who passed it down for five generations; the second is master-apprentice inheritance, such as Zhu Youyu (born in 1864), the first generation inheritor of Fantun Village, Yingpan Township, who passed it down for four generations; the third is natural inheritance. Since Liaoxi Gaoqiao Yangge is deeply loved by the masses, many enthusiasts have learned by themselves through continuous watching of performances and become new forces. Liaoxi Gaoqiao Yangge has important cultural and artistic value and has a wide influence on the masses locally and in and outside the province. As some old artists of Liaoxi Gaoqiao Yangge have passed away one after another and there is a lack of successors, their performance skills, especially the unique "extra-high stilts" in the country, are facing the risk of being lost and urgently need to be rescued and protected.

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