The Yi Smoke Box Dance consists of two parts, the chord and the miscellaneous chord, forming two styles and various schools in mountainous areas and dams, with as many as 220 sets of dance routines, of which only 117 sets have been collected and organized, of which 62 sets are chord and 55 sets are miscellaneous chord. The dance form has double dance, triple dance and group dance, etc. The dancers hold the round wooden tobacco box which used to hold fire and grass smoke, accompanied by four strings, playing the bottom of the box and dancing, with bright rhythm and warm atmosphere. The chord is the "mother chord", and the miscellaneous chord is the "child chord", and according to the custom, the chord must be danced first, and then the miscellaneous chord can be danced.
The chord is also known as the "three-step chord", "dustbin chord", this type of dance is only accompanied by musical instruments, do not sing. The number of participants is not limited, at least two people, up to a dozen people. The name of each set is based on the movement. For example, the "three-step string" is named after the combination of the three movements of step, step, squatting step, and shearing the mouth. There are "three-step string", "two-and-a-half-step", "one-and-a-half-step", "crooked string", "Doo Hoof Shell" and so on more than ten sets of combinations. In the "Crooked Chord", the feet are crossed, and the left and right sides are crooked. "Doo Hoof Shell" (i.e. Doo Hoof Dance) is a simulation of the action of the action of the hoof, jumping participants must become an even number, two rows of dance. Most of the string is singing and dancing, rich in content, a lot of sets, has collected more than eighty sets. Which is divided into two forms of self-indulgence and performance.
Self-indulgent string is a mass dance, the number of participants is not limited, circle and dance. Each set of wobbling jumping step, cover tuck step and other basic movements as the basis, plus the performance of a certain content of the action - or simulation of labor, or according to the lyrics and changes - a combination. Among the dances that express the labor life are: "Stomping on grain seeds", "Stomping on mushrooms", "Bailing small fish", and so on. Those that express love life include "Dali Chord", "Big Red Silk Thread Water Red Green", "Three Sisters" and so on. Another type is based on the variation of graphics, such as three, four or six people wearing flowers, or named according to the lyrics of "Catching Thin Horses", "Going up to Tonghai, going down to Qujiang River", and "Turning Over", "six through the flower", "kneeling yo" and so on belong to this kind.
The Cigarette Box Dance has a close relationship with the life of the Yi people, and the "Fighting Hoof Shells" in the dance obviously imitates the animal fighting hooves; the "Stomping on Grain Seeds" and "Stomping on Mushrooms" are dances reflecting farming; the "Stomping on Mushrooms" is a dance reflecting farming, and the "Stomping on Mushrooms" is a dance reflecting farming. The dance is a reflection of farming, and the "sine" is a variation of the movement of picking rice seedlings and walking up and down the mountain. It is said that when the dance started, there was no cigarette case, so people only danced with their bare hands or clapped their hands. Later, when people smoked, found that the finger playing the cigarette case, can make "croak, croak" sound, can unify the rhythm of the dance, but also add to the warm atmosphere of the dance. So the dance of playing the cigarette box has been passed down to this day.
Shiping Yi cigarette box dance has a distinctive personality and diverse skills, with famous skill movements such as "immortal bridge", "ants moving" and "upside down golden hook". This characteristic folk dance can be both fitness and pleasure, smooth and elegant movements, rich in artistic infectivity, loved by the masses, spread throughout the urban and rural areas, has developed into a set of song, dance, music, competition in one of the comprehensive dance art.
Performing chord is also known as the "new chord", mostly performed by two people, generally in the self-indulgent chord after the dance before the show. Each set has a simple plot. At first, they dance the "Three Steps", and then perform according to the plot. Among them, there are many beautiful dances and shapes, complex scheduling, and even a lot of elegant skills such as board waist, stacked Luohan. Among them, there are "Mute chopping wood" and "Mute taking fish" to show the labor life, and "Heron taking fish", "Monkey carrying grains", "Monkey carrying grains" and "Mute taking fish" to simulate the animal life. The animal simulations include "The Heron Carrying Fish", "The Monkey Carrying Bale Grain", and "The Pigeon Learning to Fly"; and the skillful ones include "Rolling Songde", "The Fly Rubbing its Feet", and "The Immortal Building a Bridge". "
There are also a few traditional stories, such as "The Three White Bone Demons".
The graphic changes of the cigarette box dance are also very distinctive, in addition to the general circle dance, there are colorful changes and combinations of flower-piercing graphics. There are 6 people wearing flowers, 4 people wearing flowers, 3 people wearing flowers, 2 people wearing flowers, etc. The dance and graphic changes are skillfully and harmoniously coordinated. It has become an important part of the style characteristics of Smoke Box Dance. Cigarette box dance rhythm is distinctive, flexible and changeable, accompanied by the crisp sound of the cigarette box, the whole body is rich in elasticity of the ups and downs, the arm phoenix nods like a dance, the calf is flexible and resilient. Characterized by prominent, rich style.