Japanese deer dancers drum up goodwill Japanese performers beat the taiko drum. Photo: CFP Dancers with deer heads move about gracefully o...

Japanese deer dancers drum up goodwill

Japanese performers beat the taiko drum. Photo: CFP

Dancers with deer heads move about gracefully onstage to the beat of a lively drum. This is not some avant-garde dance of the modern age, rather it's shishi-odoshi (literally "scare the deer"), the Japanese dance performed to the beat of the traditional taiko drum. This week, Beijing will be treated to the traditional folk performance and intangible cultural heritage at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 13, 14).

Shishi-odoshi sees dancers don decorative deer heads with antlers. Up to a dozen dancers surround a lead pair, who represent a buck and doe. The dancers sing and beat small drums strapped across their chests. Shishi-odoshi is popular throughout Japan, but is most famous in the country's remote Tohoku region, straddling the northeast of Honshu island.

Today, the folk dance is still performed in a ceremony to pray for good fortune and dispel evil spirits. Another highlight of the performance will be provided by taiko drumming troupe, Ondekoza. The ensemble founded in 1969 enjoys an international reputation as world-class performers. Aside from beating drums, their performances also include other traditional folk instruments such as the shakuhachi, a type of bamboo flute.

The performance, organized by the Japan Foundation under the auspices of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to express Japanese people's gratitude to their Chinese counterparts for aid donated following last year's devastating tsunami and earthquake. Beijing is the first leg of the ensembles' China tour, that also will see them visit Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.