Dai Opera

Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province

The Dai Opera is popular among the Dai ethnic group that live in Yunnan Province. With a history of over one hundred years, Dai Opera has developed into an established form of theatre on the basis of traditional Dai songs, dances and Buddhist sutras. It became more appealing when Dai Opera practitioners showed interest in some opera forms popular in neighbouring areas and applied them to their own performances.

The fist professional Dai Opera troupe in Dehong was established in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Later the Dai Opera spread throughout Dehong, which consequently gave rise to a large number of Dai Opera troupes and more professional performances. The stage setting arrangement, accompanying music, costumes, make-up, and performance skills of players dramatically improved since the 1950s.

Cross-dressing used to be a common practice in Dai Opera, in which male performers played the female roles in a feminine way. It is an established rule that only percussive instruments are used in Dai Opera. Most Dai Opera troupes still stick to this rule today but there are a few who are incorporating other instruments into the performances.

Dai Opera is a mix of traditional Dai festivals.Some troupes have even been performing overseas since the 1980s and have earned a good reputation.

However, the Dai Opera is close to dying out because the performers are aging and there are few young Dai who are willing to learn the traditional art form as it is not well-paid and is hard to learn.