Dance dramatizes romantic verse of Tsangyang Gyatso

The revised version of dance drama "Originates from the Love Poem of Tsangyang Gyatso" was staged in Gangca county in Qinghai province, May 26, 2016. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

The revised version of dance drama "Originates from the Love Poem of Tsangyang Gyatso" was staged in Gangca county in Qinghai province yesterday.

Combining the romantic verse of Tsangyang Gyatso (the 6th Dalai Lama) and Zang folk dances, the drama features 5 sections, namely "origin of love", "one-sided love", "die for love", "marriage crisis" and "enlightenment of love".

The drama is about the love stories of a man's three lives and a Buddhist meditation on romance.

"I love the man I played in this drama. We Zang people believe in Buddhism. And I has been purified by the drama," one of the leading dancers said.

Cai Yuan, an art specialist of Qinghai province, noted that the revised version is more approachable and can help audiences to get a better understanding of Tsangyang Gyatso's poems.

The Qinghai government planned to cultivate a group of outstanding folk dancers and promote the development of cultural tourism in Gangca.

Gangca is the last place where Tsangyang Gyatso stayed before his parinirvana in 1706. He is famous for his aesthetic romantic poems and rebellion against Buddhist rules at the time.

The theme song On the Top of Dongshan Mountain (Zai Na Dong Shan Ding Shang) from the 2000 film Song of Tibet uses Tsangyang Gyatso’s verses as lyrics.

Click here to listen to On the Top of Dongshan Mountain