Drumming up fun

By Cheng Anqi,Jiang Dong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-24 11:03

 

Hundreds of drums are rumbling along the Sightseeing Boulevard of the Beijing Olympics as part of the 11th Beijing International Cultural Tourism Festival (BICTF).

The three-day event, which has run every autumn since 1998, gathers about 3,000 performers from 71 countries and features everything from folk arts to tourism-oriented displays.

Percussion music and drum dancing will take center stage this year, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism Wang Zhifa says.

"A successful celebratory event like this carries a strong sense of culture and interaction," Wang says.

"It's like the Running of the Bulls in Spain and the Brazilian Carnival, because the point is creating the type of jubilation that involves the crowds."

Drummers from around China will play various percussion instruments indigenous to their home regions.

Ansai Waist Drum Dance, for example, originated from the infertile tracts

of land in Shanxi province.

The Wooden Drum Dance is a sacred tradition of the Miao, Yi and Wa ethnic groups from Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, and is rooted in their worship of nature and ancestors.

Miao drummer Chib Yal is very excited about his first performance in front of the Bird's Nest.

"It's a good opportunity to showcase our ethnic folk art for people from around the world," he says, striking his drum.

"Inspiring drumming and dancing will spice up the event."

Beijingers will strike Taiping (Peace) drums and dance during the event.

The unique local drum dance is traditionally performed from the 12th lunar month until the first lunar month of the following year. It is meant to bring peace and prosperity in the coming year.

Modern percussionists will also perform alongside their traditional counterparts.

Beijing Feng (Phoenix) Percussion Instrument Troupe leader Zhao Di will bring 20 performers to the National Stadium.

Two-dozen fingernail-sized light bulbs have been installed in the 1-m-high water drums the group plays. The bulbs flash and water spurts from them when they are struck.

There will also be an international carnival that includes performances by international drummers. These include Russia's Pushkin Dance Company, a French clown troupe performing traditional street dances and Malaysia's acclaimed Percussion Instrument Troupe.

Shows will also be given by a Scottish highlands musical outfit and the South Korean Dance Troupe.

The festival will also feature an array of floats, representing Beijing's 16 most famous landscapes and tourist attractions. Hundreds of performers clad in costumes from renowned designer Cui You will create moving displays of iconic scenic spots.

The 15 performances will take place on three different stages at the Olympic Park.

9 am-4 pm, Oct 24, 25. 8 Beichen Donglu. 北辰东路8号