Full coverage: ‘看中國’外國青年影像計劃專題

By CCTV.com Panview editor team     

Editor's foreword: "Looking China" International Youth Film Project is co-organized by the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture (AICCC), Beijing Normal University and Huilin Foundation, which aims to showcase the contrasting simplicity and glamour, the antiquity and fashion of China through unique perspectives of young foreign film makers.

As of the year 2016, 101 students from 25 countries were invited to participate in the project. They were stationed in 13 municipality, provinces and autonomous regions here in China. Every filmmaker has worked out a 10-minute short film about Chinese culture around the topic of “ethnic minority”.

The film, Guo Zhuang Dance, directed by Ong Xiao Hui, is set in Kham Tibetan areas, Kangding, Ganzi Tibetan Prefecture of southwest Sichuan Province. The town is high up in the mountains, where the Tibet ethnic minority group reside.

Tibetans take tremendous pride in their history, Buddhist faith and traditional customs. They love to sing and dance as well. They remain exuberant participants of Guozhuang Dance.

Guozhuang, a Tibetan folk dance, inspires unity as the group dances, making the steps and special movements flow in unison. The elderly are the biggest fans, since they hope to stay healthy and active during their retirement years.

The high altitudes can cause people to feel dizzy and lethargic, the best strategy to overcome the depressive state is to find reasons to smile, such as singing and dancing.

The master of Guozhuang dance is Luorong Yixi, a retired professional performer who teaches techniques on a voluntary basis. He insists his students learn the real Guozhuang dance form.

He chastised amateur choreographers for not staying true to authenticity in the Tibetan folk dance. Amateurs tend to pick and choose dance moves from different ethnic groups, which becomes pop culture dancing instead.

(The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com)

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