Gorshey: happy circle[Photo/China Daily]

　　Gor means circle, and she means dance, so gorshey means a circle dance performed by a group of people.

　　The dance is welcomed by Tibetans everywhere, especially in Tibet’s Lhokha prefecture.

　　Tibetans dance the gorshey in open areas such as squares, threshing grounds and grassland. Men and women dance hand in hand and sing in rotation. Spectators cheer them on.

　　The Gorshey may be the most common dance in Tibet, as people all over the region know how to perform it. The most renowned version of the dance is found in Lhokha.

　　The gorshey concludes with a proud rap verse that excites the crowd, for example: “No place elsewhere more beautiful than my hometown; no houses any more comfortable than ours; no young people any happier than us.”

　　Bang the drum for ralpa[Photo/China Daily]

　　Dengchen county in Tibet’s eastern Chamdo prefecture has long been known as the land of the ralpa dance. The dance features drums, rap-style lyrics, acrobatics and martial arts.

　　Ralpa originated from primitive sorcery in the 11th century. Legend has it the dance’s founder is Chungpo Mila Topakar, also known as Mila Repa. The legend goes that Dengchen county was a tropical climate with elephants; the locals killed the elephants and danced on the skins as a sacrifice to their gods, hence the ralpa dance originated.

　　A dancer will swirl her or his long sleeves with acrobatic agility and high-flung motions. In the old days, the dance used to be performed by the whole family. Today, the dancers will dance as a team; they put on colorful clothes, and hang big drums on their waists, and wave the drumsticks.

　　Dance the biwang[Photo/China Daily]

　　In the biwang dance, dancers form a big circle as each male carries a six-stringed biwang instrument to pluck. The lead dancer will sing.

　　The biwang dance can be done on any flat surface, such as in a yard, on a roof or in the house.

　　Also known as xuan zi wu in Mandarin and she in Tibetan, biwang is gaining popularity in Sichuan, Yunnan and especially in the Markham county of Tibet’s eastern Chamdo prefecture.

　　The dance is an indispensable part of festivals, weddings, and parities for people of all ages. Females will swing their sleeves while dancing.

　　The lyrics sung during the dance are mostly words of welcome, praise, friendship, farewell and best wishes.

　　With the biwang dance’s varied sounds and different steps, males will display strength while females show their gentleness.

　　Tapping the Toeshey[Photo/China Daily]

　　Toeshey is a genre of traditional Tibetan dance music especially popular in Lhasa, the capital city of the autonomous region, and the Shigaze prefecture, the second biggest city.

　　Toe means higher place. Tibetans consider the counties of Ngamring, Dingri, Lhaze, Sakya and the prefecture of Ngari in the upper side of the Yarlung Zangbo River as toe. Shey means song.

　　The dance reached other parts of Tibet, and it gradually included tap dance. People often refer to toeshey as the tap dance of Lhasa.

　　Traditionally, toeshey’s music contains religious overtones and love stories.

　　Toeshey can be divided into slow and fast. The slow version is dominated by singing, with simple dances.

　　The fast one is allegro, currently more popular.

Editor: Claire Wang