In Inner Mongolia, it is difficult to enjoy music from the Mongolian tribes of Buryat and Barag, or the Daur, Oroqen, and Ewenki ethnic groups, unless you go to Hulun Buir prairie in the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia, which is home to these five small groups of people.
You may not have to travel so far.
The Beijing Exhibition Hall Theater will feature the Hulun Buir Fantasy, a show with 37 children from the five groups, from August 17 to 19.
Before that, they had three successful performances in Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, earlier this month.
"It's the first time for us to leave our home to perform in Hohhot," says 12-year-old Barag Mongolian Amuerqiqige. "Though we don't know much about our history, we have learned songs from our grandparents."
The 37 children, between 5 to 13 years old, were selected from 300 children of Hulun Buir. Most of them live in remote pastoral areas, forests and farms.
The 24 songs of the show, all performed in their native languages, depict the natural beauty of Hulun Buir and the labor, games, love, life and culture of the five groups of local people.
"The cultures of these small groups of people are in danger of being assimilated by the majority. I hope the show can encourage the children to love their own culture," says the show's artistic director Burenbayaer, an ethnic Mongolian singer who is best known for his song The Sun, the Moon and the Stars (Jixiang Sanbao).
Burenbayaer's Ewenki wife Wurina, who is a professor of vocal music at the Central University for Nationalities, has collected many recordings of folk music from Hulun Buir. Burenbayaer, who is from Hulun Buir, often listens to them and wants to do something to promote the folk music of Hulun Buir.
"It's impossible to achieve the goal just with my wife and me, so we founded this troupe to encourage more people to sing Hulun Buir's folk songs," he says.
However, most of the children are from poor families that can't afford training and schooling in the city.
To carry on the troupe, a Hulun Buir Fantasy Fund was founded through ticket sales and donations. Supported by the fund, all the members of the troupe are studying in primary schools in Hailar now.
Debuting in Hailar in May, the shows soon attracted attention from the media and agents. Plans have been made for the troupe's tour in China and overseas. Pegasus & Taihe Entertainment International, a company that has produced the well-known dance show Dynamic Yunnan (Yunnan Yingxiang), will promote Hulun Buir Fantasy in the overseas market.
However, director of Hulun Buir Fantasy Xiao Zhe says that the show would not be another Dynamic Yunnan, for she would add more modern elements into it. She has adapted electric instruments and modern dance into the show, hoping to attract urban people. She is also considering turning it into a musical.
"I bring my son to see the show in order to foster an interest in minority cultures for him, but this is also a good chance for me to appreciate folk music from Hulun Buir," says Liu Yumei, a staff member of the Industrial and Commercial Bank in Hohhot. "People on the prairie are very heroic, and I hope the show will have some influence on my son."
(China Daily August 11, 2007)
