Dance of the Yao People


Dance of the Yao People is one of the best known and most popular Chinese instrumental compositions of the second half of the 20th century. It was composed collaboratively by Liu Tieshan and Mao Yuan in 1952, inspired by the long drum dance, a form of traditional festival music of the Yao people of southern and southwest China. It was premiered in Beijing in 1953.

History

Inspired by the folk songs of Yao people, Liu Tieshan composed Long Drum Dance of the Yao People during a visit to Youling village, Sanpai town, Liannan Yao Autonomous County, Qingyuan, northern Guangdong province, southern China in 1951. Mao Yuan, another composer, adapted this piece into an orchestral work in 1952.
Although it was originally composed for Western instruments, it is generally performed by Chinese traditional instruments. It is also performed by ensembles or orchestras of Western instruments.
The work achieved wide attention in 1954, when the arrangement for Chinese orchestra by the conductor Peng Xiuwen was disseminated throughout China. Other arrangements have been made by the Taiwanese composers Cheng Si-sum and Chen Tscheng-hsiung.
Musically, the work is in several sections, some slow and some fast. It begins in 2/4 meter at a slow tempo, moves to 3/4 meter, then returns to 2/4 meter in a faster tempo for the finale.
In the late 20th century, the song was used as the basis for several pop songs, in both China and the United States. The first 18 notes of the 1998 song "When You Believe," as recorded by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, are based on "Dance of the Yao People," although the Chinese composers of the original work were not credited.
The piece has been performed in the Musikverein hall in Vienna.

In popular culture

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