Tibetans perform Reba dance 热巴舞(丁青热巴) , a centuries-old Tibetan tradition to pray for good luck and harvest in Qamdo, Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Reba dance was recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage of China.
Reba dance is a kind of dance performed by Tibetan “Reba” artists. Reba is a comprehensive art form featuring tambourine and incorporated with rap music, Xie (song and dance), acrobatics, Qigong (Chinese breath exercise) and Reba play. It is performed by groups of traveling artists who make a living as performers (normally, a family is the basic unit). According to historical records, Reba is founded by Milarepa, the second patriarch of the Kagyu sect of Tibet Buddhism in the 11th century. Reba is inherited from the “witchcraft” and “Totem Dance” of Bon, a Tibetan primitive religion. It enjoys long history, abundant contents, unique style, excellent skills, interesting lines and fancy mask and absorbs essences of ancient Zhangzhung Culture, religious culture and folk art. Therefore, it is a treasure among brilliant ancient culture and art of Tibetan and possesses high artistic value and research value. Reba Dance is distributed in Qamdo, Gonpo and Nagchu of Tibet and such Tibetan inhabited regions as Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu.
Dengqen Reba is a kind of drum dance and a comprehensive art form incorporated with rap music, song and dance, acrobatics and Qigong (Chinese breath exercise). Originated from Khyungpo Dengqen, Dengqen Reba is said to be created by Khyungpo Mila Thopaga, or Milarepa. It is said that Qamdo enjoys a tropical climate where elephants roamed. People killed the elephants and spread their skin onto the ground. They then danced on the elephant skin as a form of god worship, and from this Reba dance was born. Dengqen County can be seen as the cradle of Reba dance.
热巴舞是藏族 “热巴 “艺人表演的一种舞蹈，是以手鼓为主体，结合说唱音乐、谢族歌舞、杂技、气功、热巴戏等综合艺术形式。热巴舞是以手鼓为特色，结合说唱音乐、谢族歌舞、杂技、气功、热巴戏等内容的综合艺术形式。它由以表演为生的流动艺人组成的团体（一般以家庭为基本单位）进行表演。据史料记载，热巴是由藏传佛教噶举派第二代宗主米拉日巴于11世纪创立的。热巴继承了藏族原始宗教邦的 “巫术 “和 “图腾舞”。它历史悠久，内容丰富，风格独特，技艺精湛，线条有趣，面具花哨，吸收了古代张仲文化、宗教文化和民间艺术的精华。因此，它是藏族古代灿烂文化艺术中的瑰宝，具有很高的艺术价值和研究价值。热巴舞分布在西藏的昌都、贡布、那曲以及云南、四川、青海、甘肃等藏族聚居区。
邓肯热巴舞是一种鼓乐舞，是集说唱音乐、歌舞、杂技、气功等为一体的综合性艺术形式。邓肯热巴起源于羌布-邓肯，据说是由羌布-米拉-索帕加（即米拉日巴）创造的。据说，羌多享有热带气候，大象在那里游荡。人们把大象杀死，把它们的皮铺在地上，然后在大象身上跳舞。他们就在象皮上跳舞，作为一种拜神的方式，热巴舞由此而生。磴口县可以看作是热巴舞的摇篮。