Jia Zuoguang was regarded as the founder of Inner Mongolian dances. However, Jia was a Manchurian, not a Mongolian. Jia spent most of his life on the pastureland of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He called himselfHudeqinfu(son of the pastureland in Mongolian language), while the herdsmen called himManai(ours). Dance works of Jia remind people of galloping horses and soaring swans. This is not only because he createdHerding HorsesandSwan Goose, but also because of his character.
Jia Zuoguang was born into a peasant family in the Suburbs of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in 1923. At the age of 15, he passed the examination and entered the children's dance class under the Manchuria Film Association (predecessor of Changchun Film Studio). From the Japanese modern dance master Baku Ishii, he learned ballet and modern dance as well as classical music, drawing and literature. His natural gifts and exceptional diligence immediately brought out his talent.
To avoid the Japanese army, he escaped to Peking (now Beijing). In 1942, he held a solo dance performance, at which he performed the programs full of just and national feelings such asHometown,Soul of the State,Child Standard-BearerandDevil. These aroused a feeling of patriotism among the common people who did not want to be enslaved.
In the late 1940s, Jia Zuoguang led his people to newly liberated areas in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The boundless prairie kindled the youths' enthusiasm. They put on a Mongolian long gown and galloped on the vast pastureland. Jia engaged in small talks with Mongolian grannies and trained horses, milked and cut grass with young people. During festivals, he attended horsemanship and marksmanship and wrestling competitions. At the local banquets, he drank and sang with the local people. Consequently, he began collecting the folk dances of the pastureland like a gold-washer. All the works he produced have a strong sense of life, various folk colors and exquisite dance skills.
From the 1940s to 1980s, Jia Zuoguang created a large number of excellent works. The solo danceHerding Horseschoreographed and performed by Jia himself in the 1940s successfully presented to us a broad-minded herdsman good at riding.
HisErdos Dancefinished in the 1950s (a group dance composed by Ming Tai and premiered by Siqin Tariha and Liang Huimin) for the first time made the plateau tribe known to the world. It won the golden award in the Fifth World Youth Festival.
TheSea Wavesin the 1980s (a male solo dance composed by Yang Zhihua and premiered by Liu Wengang) combined perfectly the images of seagulls and sea waves by concise and distinct dance steps and superb skills, showing the dauntless spirit that fights against storms.
The three works mentioned above are included in the Dance Classics of the Chinese Nation in the 20th Century.
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