Reba dance is a large-scale collective song and dance accompanied by drums, cymbals (single cymbals) and gongs. It is highly technical, with light and agile dance movements at the beginning, and unrestrained emotions and rough and powerful movements at the climax.

The original intention of dancing the Reba dance is to pray for the Buddha to bless the village’s safety, the prosperity of the livestock, to prevent disasters, and to pray for a good harvest. Artists in singing, dancing, instrumental music, costumes, etc. need to undergo a long period of training before they can participate.

Reba Dance*** is divided into 12 sections. Before each dance section, a verse is recited, which is to praise the heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, mountains and rivers, Bodhisattvas, etc. The number of programs performed should not be less than nine: "Praise to the Heaven and Earth, Worship the Four Directions", "The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars", "The Sound of Drums Spread, Peace in All Directions", "The Gods and Buddhas Sing and Dance with Us", "Good Friends and Mysteries" "Bringing Master and Disciple to Fight", "Crow Blowing Big Words", "Friends, Mysteries Pulled Down the Sacred Mountain", "Hero Nibri defeated Demon Duni Abba", "Send off Gods, Buddhas and VIPs". In order to attract the audience, the dance in Rebazhong pays attention to the graceful dance posture and choreographs difficult movements, just like the ancient opera with acrobatics, martial arts and other skills. During the dance, the number of men and women is equal, and the lead dancer plays the main role. In the sound of tambourine, through jumping, turning and flipping movements, the venue is circled and the audience is attracted, and then the actors and actresses come on stage. During the performance, men shake bells and women beat them, dancing to the rhythm of the drums. The dancer's waist is shaped like a short skirt, made of wool or cow hair and dyed with three or five colors of braid. With various powerful and difficult movements, the skirt floats up, showing softness in the hardness, and is free and easy. The performers are very particular about single-leg rotation and various types of bungees, cross body flips and other movements, such as women's flat spins with drums, cat jumps and flips, forward and reverse twists, high and low drumming, etc., which are varied and emotional. The men's skill performance is even more exciting. It fully reflects the innocent, simple, enthusiastic, cheerful and strong heroic temperament of the Tibetan people. Such as bunny hopping that expresses animal forms, or twisting and hopping, or rolling hair, or walking dwarfs, showing skills and skills with milling legs, or spinning on one leg, or squatting with a bell, or lying down and jumping; showing play Wrestling with sports competitions, turtles climbing on the sand, stacking Arhats, and rolling pots; Qigong actions such as stabbing the abdomen with a sharp knife, spinning with a knife, and rolling the tip of an ox's horn. Reba dance style is skilled and precise, with intense and intense rhythms, rich expressions, unrestrained emotions, bold and bold, heroic and unrestrained features, steady and generous features, and graceful and changeable dance postures. The entire program, including mime, acrobatics, qigong and other elements, forms a complete set. The performance program is particularly artistic and interesting. It can not only entertain but also achieve the purpose of physical exercise. It is deeply loved by the Tibetan people.

The tambourine is an important part of Reba. It is divided into nine types of drums, and dances are performed according to the different rhythms of the drums. During the performance, men hold copper bells and women hold hand drums (hence Reba dance is also called bell drum), walking around in circles and dancing gracefully. The beats of the tambourine have a distinct rhythm, which can be high or low, fast or slow, as the melody and emotion change. The rhythm is slow, with tambourines and drums ringing, and the clear sound is distant, like a deep mountain stream and the sound of bells in the wilderness; the rhythm is fast, with cymbals and drums ringing in unison, vigorously, like a rushing torrent or an avalanche in the mountains. Entering the climax, the dance moves are very intense. The man straddles one leg like an eagle, leaps and spins, while the woman holds a bow and drumstick in one hand, raises her head high, turns around and dances like a peacock spreading its tail.

The dance moves adopt Xianzi and Guozhuang dance steps, while also absorbing some skills and movements from acrobatic performances. The more exciting ones include lying down and turning, lying down on the small jumper, swinging the waist back and forth, and spinning in place across the legs. , lying down with a big jumper, etc.

The formations of Reba dance are many and complex. In addition to circles, there are also dragon tail swings and double flower arrangements. The dance is graceful and has a distinct rhythm. The hands and feet are in line with each other, and the emphasis is on leg movements. changes. Sometimes it's like walking in the Bagua array, and sometimes it's like several green dragons flying, intertwining, and circling side by side.

Although the formation is complex and changeable, nearly a hundred amateur actors can perform in a uniform and orderly manner. Its majestic momentum and passionate emotions are breathtaking. Anyone who can feast their eyes on it will be amazed and will never forget it.

Reba Dance·Ding Qing Reba

Ding Qing’s Reba Dance is a comprehensive performing art that is mainly based on bell drumming, accompanied by rap and even acrobatic Qigong. famous. Its dance is rough, bold and smooth, and is very difficult. The music is simple, bright, high-pitched and exciting. Most of the performance content is to avoid disasters, celebrate harvests, and pray for good luck.

The important characteristics of Ding Qingreba are its rough, unrestrained, heroic and religious color. Legend has it that during the construction of the Lewuqi Chagyemma Hall, a holy place of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the house that the craftsmen had worked hard to build in the sun and rain during the day was deliberately destroyed by demons and ghosts at night.

So Chajma monk Sanjevante invited the dancers of Qiongboding Qinguto Reba to perform the Reba dance on the construction site. They miraculously tied ropes in the sky and built the Mantoro on the water. With their superb skills and strong artistic charm, they fascinated and confused the demons and ghosts, which in turn allowed the craftsmen to gain time and build the majestic Chacha. Gemma Hall.

Main schools

There are three schools of Dingqing Reba dance. According to oral tradition, Wotuo Reba has a history of more than 900 years in the Jueen area of ??Dingqing. Wotuo Reba is characterized by difficult skills, such as pole-climbing skills, abdominal stone breaking, knife-clipping rotation, etc. are all Wotuo Reba's unique skills. Kangsha Reba is one of the important Reba schools that is still active on the stage in Qamdo. Its traditional programs include one-o'clock drum, three-o'clock drum, six-o'clock drum, nine-o'clock drum, etc., as well as some xianzi dance, Zhuo dance and male and female duets. A performance of debate (equivalent to comic dialogue). Wotuo Reba belongs to the acrobatic Qigong type of performance, but its current popularity has basically stopped, and it is difficult to see its true appearance in Lushan. Gyatso Reba, which is popular in the Dingqing Sezha area, has a history of more than 500 years. Its main feature is the grafting of strings and Reba, while dancing and playing the artist's homemade erhu, with beautiful dancing postures. The bold and bold Reba is perfectly combined with the melodious strings. The dance is graceful and the melody is melodious. This artistic style has been absorbed by many literary and art groups. Dongluo Reba, which is popular in Dingqing Sangduo area, also has a history of more than 300 years. Dongluo Reba's performance styles are diverse, mainly using traditional bell drumming, accompanied by humorous raps and many other performance contents. Dongluo Reba still grows tenaciously in the way of family inheritance in Jiongxiu Village, Sanduo Township, a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral area. At the annual Dingqing County Reba Art Festival, these disseminators of ancient culture and art have superb skills. They also go on the road with their families every year during the off-farm season to perform and make a living.

The expression forms of the three types of Reba are similar. They are all famous for their rough and bold dance movements and difficult dance styles. Their music is characterized by its simplicity, brightness, high pitch and excitement, and unrestrained and smoothness. The main content is multi-faceted. Avoid disasters, celebrate harvest, wish good luck, etc.

Reba Dance·Nagqu, such as Dinga Reba

The existing Dinga Reba is divided into two forms: Reba performed by monastery lamas and Reba performed by folk artists. In the past, Dinga Reba folk artists were mainly passed down from generation to generation through family father-son inheritance. Village-based Reba teams were established, and the scope of inheritance was expanded.

Dinga Reba has many traditional programs, more than 30 in total. Each program has different dancing methods and postures. Its contents include telling Tibetan history and legends, and also for... To promote religious ideas for the needs of temple sacrificial activities, representative plays include: "Oudong" (drumming), "Qujie Luosang" (Prince Luosang), "Sibai Bama Guoguo" (original old parents) ), "Jiasha Gongjuelangba" (Welcoming Princess Wencheng), "Guru Dorjere" (Vajra Dance Hall), etc. Dinga Reba dance not only has the rhythm of local herdsmen’s dance, but also draws on the dance postures encouraged by Reba bells in Qamdo area. It uses the smooth herdsmen’s dance movements as the basic footwork, and the upper body performance absorbs the passion and boldness of the women’s tambourine drums in Chamdo Reba. movements, thus forming a unique style that integrates the essence of eastern and northern Tibetan dance. There are also many interesting performances, simulated animal movements and some plot-rich dramas in Dinga Reba.

Innovative Reba Music

In the past, Reba dance mainly used drums, bells, singing and dialogue as music forms, interspersed in the dance, which seemed relatively monotonous. Through innovative Reba music, it not only highlights the artistry of Reba dance, but also makes the entire Reba dance come alive. Its characteristics are: first, it uses Reba drum beats as the keynote, making its rhythm more distinct and unrestrained. The second is to use the rich national folk music as the material and re-create it to make it more vivid, bright, full of passion and sense of the times. The third is to use modern music creation and expression techniques to add new vitality to the ancient Reba art. In this way, it not only retains the original artistic characteristics of ancient Reba but also caters to the aesthetic needs of modern people.

Innovative Reba Dance

Refining the essence of Reba Dance must use its unique form of expression as a creative element to form a more visible comprehensive art, making It gives full play to the unique and charming artistic characteristics of Reba dance. In the creative process: First, the drum beats are changed in traditional drum beat techniques, from one, three, six, and nine o'clock, to four, six, eight, and twelve o'clock, to the most intense rotation of thirty-six o'clock. It has developed to sixty-four drums, and this drumming technique is called "Zeji drum" (named after the founder).

This drumbeat is more intense, has rich changes in drumbeats, has a higher degree of difficulty, and is more expressive, strengthening the personality that Reba dance should have. The second is to make a fuss about the dance composition. The main composition of the traditional Reba dance is a circle dance, which is not suitable for stage performances. In order to break the tradition, new creative techniques are used in the dance composition to make Reba dance more suitable for the requirements of modern stage performance. The third is to add drum types (Reba drum, Daru drum (hand drum), waist drum, back drum) to enrich its expression forms. Through this series of bold innovations, Reba, an ancient art form, has been given new connotations, making its aesthetic value higher and more contagious.

Types of Reba

With the changes in history, the art of Reba is also changing, gradually forming different types. ***It is divided into three major performance types and is spread among the people. That is, the wandering Reba artists who make a living by performing arts, the common people Reba who entertain themselves, and the Reba who do business through art performances as a medium.

1. Wandering Reba artists who make a living by performing arts

This type of Reba artists are mainly based on the family. When necessary, they disperse into several groups to beg for food and perform arts. Finally, they gather at the meeting point, and their skills are world-class. According to legend. This type of Reba has high artistic level, superb acting skills, great difficulty, complete costumes and rich content. It is the main body of folk Reba. These Reba performances have a long history and a wide area. Their performance venues are not restricted and can be adapted to the location.

2. Self-entertainment common people Reba

The reba artists are composed of common people’s villages as the core, and people from other villages can also join. It is influenced by regional culture and language, and its style It is also different. Each village has its own Reba team, which is characterized by non-mobile and non-performance in exchange for payment. Most performances are performed on festival days. Compared with the former reba, self-entertainment reba has less content and is less difficult to perform.

3. Reba who uses performance as a medium to do business

This type of Reba art is centered on the family and has family history and tradition. It does not use performing arts as a means, but uses business as a medium. , with a high income, rich performance content, superb skills, and difficult performances, and targeting the masses' viewing psychology, the programs have continued unabated and are very popular among the masses.

Reba dance has developed on the basis of the above three performance forms and has become a professional art form, which has enabled generations of Reba artists with different styles and genres to stand out and contribute to Reba dance. The foundation was laid for the continued prosperity of dance.

Batang Reba

1. Introduction

Batang Reba dance originated in Suwalong Township, Batang County. It is a combination of singing, dancing, rap, and acrobatics. A comprehensive folk literature and art composed of folklore, drama, etc., with unrestrained emotions, rough movements and strong skills in performance. In the old society, Reba artists made a living through their art, and their skills were mainly passed down from family to family and were generally not passed down to the outside world. Usually, they bring their entire family and wander around all year round, performing in villages and often forming a Reba family.

2. Artistic characteristics

The performance form is divided into four parts: the first part is the prologue and the singing of congratulations. The second part is the tambourine dance. The drum beats are "Jianglun Ange" (single strike), "Sang Dong" (three strikes), "An Mo Sen Sen" (side strike), "Zhu Rong" (six strikes), There are five types of "Ge frozen" (nine strikes), and they dance while striking. Every time a drumming dance is completed, a wonderful acrobatics and martial arts performance will be performed; every time two drumming dances are completed, there will be a "gag". This kind of gag has no fixed lines and is purely an impromptu performance, or it may ridicule and make fun of physical defects and one's own performance mistakes, in order to attract more audiences and restore the performer's physical strength. The third part is a short and concise pantomime performance with a certain storyline, similar to Tibetan opera fragments. The fourth part is Reba Xianzi Dance. In the warm, passionate and unrestrained singing and dancing, people's gifts and donations are accepted and the performance ends.

Ling drumming is the essence of Reba. During the performance, the actor wears a circle of black and white ox hair flower ropes around his waist, and each flower rope is tied with various colored hair tassels at the tip. Both male and female actors wear dance costumes. When dancing, the male holds a copper bell in his right hand and a red yak tail in his left hand (to ward off evil spirits and ghosts and avoid disasters); the female holds an oblate drum in her left hand and a bow-shaped drum hammer in her right hand, walking in a circle. dance to tune. The movements of this dance are very strong. When the dance reaches its climax, the man is like an eagle, leaping and spinning on one leg; the woman quickly turns around and beats the drum to dance.

Batang Reba Dance has participated in many artistic performances and has been well received by the audience. In 1981, in the first "Paoma Mountain Autumn" cultural performance in Garze Prefecture, Batang's Reba Dance "Celebration" was rated as an outstanding program.