Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin



This post is from an email I received today that I thought I would pass along. I hope you enjoy it.

It is called the "DANCE OF 1000 HANDS"

There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the net. Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring.

Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.

Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.

5 comments:

MmeBenaut said...

Oh Lily, what an amazing spectacle. It adds so much knowing that the dancers are deaf-mute. So many Australians wear their disabilities like a millstone around their necks. It just goes to show what can be achieved with a different attitude.
Having said that, I'm going to climb a mountain on my 60th birthday (I have six and a half years to get into shape for that!)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your comments on my blog - especially about the migraines; I'll try that next time I get one (they seem to have mostly gone now I've left my job & gone freelance!)

I lost my cat last September on her 14th birthday so I know how you feel. I now have Dexter as you may have seen by my posts.

Joanna said...

This is an amazing performance. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for commenting on my squirrel dreaming dog.

MyMaracas said...

Oh my, what a gorgeous and inspiring video! This is the first time I've seen this troupe. Amazing.

Thanks so much for posting this!

JamaGenie said...

What a marvelous performance! Hope you don't mind that I linked to it here in this weeks' Flea Market Saturday.