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Sangmo, a dancing assistant professor from Tibet One day in the spring of 1995, in the dancing classroom of Central University for Nationalities, Sangmo was standing among the students of minority nationalities, demonstration for them. She raised her arm, then her leg and made a pirouette. This is the stage where she has spent 33 years. Now she is the assistant professor of dancing and a member of the Society for Dances of Minority Nationalities in China, but she never forgets her home-Tibet.
At her aunt's place, she always went to the suburbs in Lhasa to pick up cow dung, together with many of her companions. After returning home, she would mix grass with the cow dung and then stick this on the wall to dry, thus making fuel widely used in the area. In 1951, Tibet was liberated peacefully. Soon after that, the first Tibetan primary school was begun. Sangmo was curious and ran to the primary school where she saw many Han nationality and Tibetan teachers who understood the Tibetan language. In the past there had been no schools in Tibet. Children of the nobility went to old-style private schools for an education. But at this time anyone could register for school. Sangmo tried to register, but the kind teacher told her that her parents had to come and register her. When Sangmo told them she had no parents, she was admitted immediately and allowed to stay at school. The school extended the neat quilts to her. She enjoyed toe three free meals a day. Sitting in the bright classroom, Sangmo began to learn the Tibetan language. In d1954, she left school, following her aunt to Shannan. Ploughing a small piece of land near the Yarlung Zangbo River, the family lived a hard life. In spring they had no seeds to cultivate the land and had to borrow some which had to be returned in autumn. Two years later, life took a turn for the better. At a religious festival, the county recruited students to join classes which would train cadres. She was admitted and luckily rode her aunt's horse to Gyangze County to return to school. Of all the rural children, she was the youngest but she was the only one who knew how to read and write the Tibetan language. Therefore, she agreed to teach the Tibetan language for several months and then she was sent to Zedang Township to continue her studies. One day two cadres from the Tibet Song and Dance Troupe went to her school, and asked Sangmo whether she wanted to join their troupe. Sangmo answered frankly, "Yes, I do!" Then she returned to Lhasa. she chose dancing instead of singing just because she thought it was more fun. But Sangmo didn't have the classes of dances, instead she continued to learn cultural knowledge. One day, she heard that the teachers of the troupe would go to Beijing to perform. she insisted on going with them because the inland cities were always a puzzle to her. Whenever she read pictorials and saw the children in the inland cities holding a peaceful pigeon, she couldn't say how she looked forward to this. As the teachers in the troupe couldn't make her change her mind, they took her with them. Their first stop was Golmud, then it was Lazhou, the capital city of Gansu Province. In the tidy and spacious hostel which had a heating system and bathrooms, Sangmo and her young companions from the troupe were so excited that they happily ran everywhere in the hostel. Then they took the train they had only seen in the movies, arriving to Beijing. After the performance was over, Sangmo and other children were allowed to stay at the class of preparatory course of the Central College for Nationalities to continue their cultural studies. Soon afterwards, the training class for dancing was established and she joined. In this college, Sangmo and her classmates enjoyed very good food-three courses with one soup at each meal. In addition the school provided them with pocket money and also a suit of nationality clothes every year. In addition to teaching the Tibetan language and cultural knowledge, the teachers from the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble also taught them to dance Chinese classical dances, folk dances and some foreign dances. Occasionally Tibetan folk artists taught them Tibetan dances. As she began her walk down the dancing road, Sangmo discovered that she was born to dance. Her ancestors had handed down the dancing gift to her in their blood. When music plays, she devotes all her attention to the dances. Because of her excellent achievements in her studies, Sangmo was assigned to work at her school as a dancing teacher. Sangmo loves dances of the different ethnic groups. Her students come from the areas of minority nationalities all over the country. She assiduously teaches them the dances of different nationalities. She cherishes and intimate feeling with them. In class they are teacher and student. After class they are friends. Sangmo, frank, open and cheerful, became the students' favorite teacher. Her husband, Danzhou Duojie, who is also a Tibetan dancing teacher in the same department, often says, Sangmo will never grow up because she is a child at heart. Naturally, Sangmo likes the Tibetan dances the most. But for years there weren't any standard teaching materials for Tibetan dances. She hopes she can fill this gap. She said, "Tibet is a sea of songs and dances. In the religious rites every monastery or temple has its own dances. Of the Tibetan folk festivals, the Linka Festival is one of the important ones which falls on the fifteenth day of the fifth month. Families camp out in the lingka (woods) parks or gardens near running water. They have picnics, drink qingke barley beer and buttered tea, and dance and sing until evening. When they sing, they can't help dancing. Even the Tibetan old people can dance. Tibetans are as proud of their songs and dances as of their Tibetan language and Tibetan medicine." Since the 1970, Sangmo and her husband have gone back to Tibet many times. They left their footprints in Heihe, Shannan, Qamdo, and Xigaze. They figured out the fundamental factors in numerous Tibetan folk dances and summarized their common rules. For example, a quivering leg, the rhythm of the feet and the upper body's exaggerated movements. Sangmo said, "What makes the body movements of the Tibetan dances different form that of the Han nationality lies in that the waist of the Tibetan dancer is analogous to the hands of the Han dancer while the upper body is always moving. Some Tibetan dances are elegant and serious; some rough and wild, embodying the personality of the Tibetan nationality." At present, they have finished this teaching material of the Tibetan folk dances which has the nationality style and the characteristics of the day and artistic quality. The authentic national "Peach and Plum" Cup Dancing Competition is held every three years in China. Since the first competition was held in 1985, four of Sangmo's students have won gold medals and more than ten students earned themselves 'Ten Best" honor. Sangmo believes that "good is its own reward; evil its own punishment." Although she lives in Beijing, the spirit of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau lingers in her mind. She often puts her palms together and repeats the Six-Syllable Prayer (om, ma, ni, pad, me and hum). When Teacher He Yongcai who brought the turn of life to her left the world, she presented him with a hada, a ceremonial silk scarf given by the Panchen Erdenis which she had had for a long time. When the Panchen Erenis passed away, she lit the butter lamp for three days and nights. Likewise, when Dolma whom she took to Beijing from Shannan gave her personal evening party of sole dances, she, wearing the Tibetan clothes, presented Dolma a hada to congratulate her. Even though she never gave her solo performance, while a teacher, she said she felt happy and satisfied when she saw her students become excellent dancers.
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