Tibet, the ridge of the world, is also famously known as the "Ocean of Songs and Dances." Nearly every Tibetan can sing and dance. They sing anytime for any event and dance at festivals, weddings, and gatherings as well as during their spare time. A history of over several thousand years has witnessed the development of many kinds of folk dances in Tibet, including the religious dance called "Qamo."

The areas inhabited by Tibetans boast a great diversity of folk songs and dances. Here, you will be introducing to some of the major dances popular with Tibetans:

Guoxie dance

Guoxie (meaning "village" in Tibetan) is a group dance popular in rural areas of Tibet. The participants dance hand in hand and sing in rotation. The dance is often seen in villages and on open squares and threshing grounds. The dancers mark the rhythm by stamping their feet.

At festivals men and women stand hand in hand in two lines around a big vat of highland-barley wine placed on open ground. The two groups first sing and walk from left to right in a circle. When they finish singing, the xieben, or organizer of the dance, leads in shouting, "Xiu, xiu, xiu, xiu," and starts the dance with rhythmic steps. This rhythmic shouting is called xiege in Tibetan, or "beginning of the song," which is followed closely by quick-tempo singing and dancing.

The two lines of men and women compete in their dancing. After repeated dancing, the xieben leads in shouting, "Xiu, xiu, xiu, xiu," or sings alone while the others dance to his tempo. This part of the dance is called the xiexiu, or the finale.

Duixie dance

Duixie has two meanings. Dui means "upper" or "highland." Therefore it refers to the round dance popular in rural areas of Ngamring, Dingri, Lhaze, and Sagya counties. It also refers to the tap dance performed by urban people after the folk dance in dui areas was introduced into Lhasa.

In the mid-seventeenth century the fifth Dalai, in an effort to reinforce his rule by combining government with religion, stipulated that the Sholdon Festival be held in Lhasa from the end of June to early July every year. (The Sholdon Festival later developed into the Tibetan drama festival.) On this day groups from all parts of Tibet converged on Lhasa to perform. A group from a dui area in Tibet performed a lively and vigorous tap dance that was immediately loved and improved on by people in Lhasa. The major improvement was to start on the second beat, followed by a change of step after every three steps.

The dancers tap vigorously to music played on flutes, Chinese plucked stringed instruments, plucked six-stringed instruments, dulcimers, and clusters of small bells. The music for accompaniment of duixie has been formalized into a slow opening, short interlude, allegro, and finale. Thus duixie has gradually been transformed from a recreational dance to stage exhibition.

Langmaxie dance

It was documented that langmaxie became popular in Lhasa at the end of the 18th century. Langmaxie incorporates songs with dances. It has two parts: jiangxie (singing slowly) and juexie (singing and dancing in a quick tempo). There are more songs in langmaxie and they are spread more widely than dances.

Guozhuang dance

Guozhuang, an often-used term, is homophonic with guoxie in Tibetan and means singing and dancing in a circle. There are farmers and herdsmen's guozhuang. Farmers' guozhuang is popular in Qamdo in eastern Tibet, while herdsmen's guozhuang is popular in the vast pasture land of Damxung, Heihe, and Sog Xian.

The movements of guozhuang are agile and vigorous. The loose, wide trousers of the male dancers look like the feathered legs of eagles, and the men's movements are imitative of creatures, especially eagles, such as an eagle spreading its wings, hopping, and soaring. The emphasis is on the postures and expression of emotion.

Kangxie dance

Kangxie, a dance to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument, is popular across the areas where Tibetans inhabit, including Qinghai, Yunnan, Batang, and Qamdo.

At festivals and on outings in Batang and Qamdo, men and women dance face to face in two lines and are usually directed by one person who plays a stringed instrument made of ox horn. They dance in a circle or randomly. They sing to each other to express their feelings. Along with the trill in their singing, there is a kind of "trill" in their dance, most of which mimes the movements of the peacock. The graceful movements flow naturally and are characterized by broad, slow steps and pointing of the foot toward the ground. The dancers wave their sleeves while turning, creating a fascinating scene of flying sleeves. "Peacock Drinking Water" is an exhibition dance designed by Tibetans to express their wishes for good fortune and happiness.

Qamo dance

The qamo religious dance in Tibet came into being during conflict between Buddhism and the local Bon-po religion (the Black Sect). In the process of localizing Buddhism, Padmasambhava from Kashmir created a kind of religious dance to subdue the "evil spirits" in monasteries by giving the local Tibetan dances Buddhist interpretations. This religious dance gradually became popular as qamo, a sorcerer's dance.

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