Dancing On
Shi sees it as her responsibility to carry on this beautiful, time-honored art form for future generations.
In 2004, Shi retired from her job at the local cultural center. She opened a Miao drum dancing class in her backyard offering free lessons. When she was younger, Shi was taken by the thrill of performing on the stage; but by 2004, she was more interested in channeling her time and energy toward fostering new inheritors of the art form.
At first glance, the makeshift studio in Shi’s backyard is a rather crude environment for such a beautiful dance. It has the necessities – a dozen huge, crimson drums and two big mirrors on opposing walls – but also holes in the ceiling. Yet this doesn’t worry Shi. It doesn’t stop students from coming to her; as Shi proudly reminded us, notable drum dancers of younger generations, such as Long Junlan and Long Jupei, have all come out of Shi’s dance studio. As her students pass the art to others, people who have learned from her directly or indirectly now number close to 10,000. They work for 180-odd Miao drum troupes.
But Shi is not satisfied with the current scope of drum dancing’s influence and is striving to do even more for this heritage. In order to involve more and more people in her love of drum dancing, Shi and her students travel to middle and primary schools in remote areas to teach. Shi said, “Our lessons are free, and we teach students until they can do it at will.” Shi also plans to produce instructional videos according to the types and schools of Miao drum dancing to encourage even more people beyond the borders of Xiangxi and even China to learn.
Her mission is gaining momentum. Today, women sporting traditional Miao silver headwear and costumes performing the dance on street corners and squares is a common sight in Jishou. When they move, the sweet tinkling of their silver trimmings accompanies the drumbeat. It should remind you what Shi Shunmin has done to pass on this graceful art.
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