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The Gor-Shae and Gor-Dong Dances
The gor-shae and gor-dong are round dances popular in the three major regions of Tibet. In rural parts around Lhasa, Lhoka and Shigatse, where the Tsangpo River flows, the dance is known as gor-shae, while in Chamdo and the Tibetan-inhabited religious of Sichuan and Yunnan it has the name gor-dong. This kind of round dance is performed by both men and women who form two concentric circles around a bonfire, and holding hands, shoulders touching, sing in alternator choruses of men and women. The dance may continue throughout the night until daybreak. For Tibetans, singing and dancing are a way of relaxing after a hard day’s labor, and expressing their feeling for nature. It also provides an opportunity for young people to declare their love for one another. It is clear from watching the gor-shae that Tibetan folk songs and dances have their roots in labor. Many of the dance movements come from such collective activities as threshing, house building, leveling a roof or laying flooring. In proof of this, the gor-shae always opens with foot-stamping while the dancers all chant “shoo, shoo, shoo?to keep the rhythm of the dance, which never falters despite the fact that there are many participants and no music. |
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