Wonderful life of dish-serving dancer Abenzhi

In the Yi villages of Nanjian County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, dish-serving dances are performed on either happy or sad occasions. At the dinner party, the dish usher and carriers dance all the way from the kitchen to the table to the music. Taking the unique gaits of the Yi ethnic group, they lay down the dishes on the table in a lively and humorous manner. As the highest form of hospitality for the Yi people in Nanjian, the Dish-Serving Dance was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

 Abenzhi is a prefectural representative successor of dish-serving dance. Enjoying great popularity in Dali and even Yunnan, Abenzhi is also known as a master of Dage singing and a prince of dish-serving dance. Abenzhi was born into a Yi family of Dage singing 54 years ago. Under the influence of his father, he began to learn the lively Dage singing when he was young. He is easy-going and humorous. And he is a good singer as well as great dancer. At the age of 19 years old, Abenzhi watched the performance of a dish-serving dancer at a dinner party and immediately fell in love with the dance. Ever since then, Abenzhi has danced at countless weddings. As long as Abenzhi dances at the wedding dinner in the village, the bride and the groom will be considered as the happiest couple in the world.

On October 21, 2015, when Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan were attending the China-Britain Creative Industry Exhibition at Lancaster House in London, the performance of four dancers of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance Troupe together with the famous Chinese singer Sa Dingding won the warm applause of everyone present. The choreographer behind this grand debut of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance in Europe was precisely Abenzhi.

For the one-minute successful performance, the dancers practised more than 400 hours. It is Abenzhi’s dream to spread Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance from Yi villages to the world so that more people can enjoy its charm and beauty. In the past 38 years, Abenzhi and other dancers of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance Troupe not only have travelled all over Yunnan but have also introduced the dish-serving dance to people all over China and even the world. They have won a series of awards, such as Mountain Flower Award, Galaxy Award and Sunbird Award. Now Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance has become a symbol of Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture and even Yunnan Province.

Wonderful life of dish-serving dancer Abenzhi

In the Yi villages of Nanjian County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, dish-serving dances are performed on either happy or sad occasions. At the dinner party, the dish usher and carriers dance all the way from the kitchen to the table to the music. Taking the unique gaits of the Yi ethnic group, they lay down the dishes on the table in a lively and humorous manner. As the highest form of hospitality for the Yi people in Nanjian, the Dish-Serving Dance was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Abenzhi is a prefectural representative successor of dish-serving dance. Enjoying great popularity in Dali and even Yunnan, Abenzhi is also known as a master of Dage singing and a prince of dish-serving dance. Abenzhi was born into a Yi family of Dage singing 54 years ago. Under the influence of his father, he began to learn the lively Dage singing when he was young. He is easy-going and humorous. And he is a good singer as well as great dancer. At the age of 19 years old, Abenzhi watched the performance of a dish-serving dancer at a dinner party and immediately fell in love with the dance. Ever since then, Abenzhi has danced at countless weddings. As long as Abenzhi dances at the wedding dinner in the village, the bride and the groom will be considered as the happiest couple in the world. On October 21, 2015, when Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan were attending the China-Britain Creative Industry Exhibition at Lancaster House in London, the performance of four dancers of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance Troupe together with the famous Chinese singer Sa Dingding won the warm applause of everyone present. The choreographer behind this grand debut of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance in Europe was precisely Abenzhi. For the one-minute successful performance, the dancers practised more than 400 hours. It is Abenzhis dream to spread Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance from Yi villages to the world so that more people can enjoy its charm and beauty. In the past 38 years, Abenzhi and other dancers of Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance Troupe not only have travelled all over Yunnan but have also introduced the dish-serving dance to people all over China and even the world. They have won a series of awards, such as Mountain Flower Award, Galaxy Award and Sunbird Award. Now Nanjian Dish-Serving Dance has become a symbol of Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture and even Yunnan Province.