"Freedom, liveliness and optimism... are the characteristics of Nazikum's dance movements." On March 10, Turson Patar demonstrated dance movements to young people around him in Yingtuoer Village, Sanbao Township, Gaochang District, Turpan City. He was vigorous and rhythmic, showing the unique rhythmic sense of this dance.

Turson Patar (fourth from left) performs Nazikum. Courtesy of Turpan Cultural Center

As the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project Nazikum Turpan Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage, Tuerxun began to learn Nazikum from the age of 15, and has jumped for more than 40 years.

"Nazikum integrates musical instrument performance, competitive performance, pantomime performance, rap and singing, and its crouching dance is unique among local folk songs and dances." Tolson introduced that the dance steps are mainly "single step walking", with slightly bent knees and loose body, showing kindness and humor in changing posture; At the same time, the dance also integrates the dynamic scenes of labor and life, such as thread rubbing, noodles pulling, etc. A large number of squatting, jumping and other skills make the dance light and interesting.

Turson Patar (fourth from right) performs Nazikum. Courtesy of Turpan Cultural Center

Talking about why he studied Nazikum, Turson recalled that when he was a child, villagers would always get together and dance Nazikum together during slack seasons, weddings and major festivals. "The first time I saw everyone dance, I was infected by the happy atmosphere of the scene, and also wanted to pass the happiness to everyone around me." He began to learn from Nazikum. "My teacher is Eli Timur. He began to perform on the stage in the 1950s, and he has strict requirements for every action and every detail of us."

"Mr. Ellie first let us observe the life habits of chickens, ducks and other animals to help us understand dance movements." Tolson found that poultry not only has a unique rhythm and gait when walking, but also looks particularly interesting when shaking their heads. So Turson tried to imitate these movements and skillfully integrated them into the dance.

"I was too nervous to let myself go on the stage for the first time, and was applauded by the audience, but Mr. Ellie kept encouraging me." With the deepening of learning, Turson also gradually mastered such difficult movements as "picking flowers at the waist" and "holding flowers with his back and hands bent". He gradually realized that the charm of Nazikum is not only derived from its humorous dance movements, but also from the control of music rhythm. He began to learn musical instruments again, and tried to match the rhythm of music with the dynamic feeling of dance, so that he could dance more vividly and interestingly, and perform more freely on the stage.

Turson Patar (fifth from left) performs Nazikum. Courtesy of Turpan Cultural Center

With the improvement of skills, Turson began to show the charm of Nazikum in local weddings and festivals, and gradually expanded the stage of performance to Turpan, Urumqi and other places. Years of performance experience made him deeply realize that as an intangible cultural heritage, the inheritance and development of Nazikum needs more people to participate. He has trained many apprentices. In addition to decoration work, 26 year old Megiti Yasen is keen to learn from Nazkum. "Teacher Turson not only teaches us to dance, but also helps us when we have difficulties in life. In private, we are more like friends."

"I am 63 years old now. I am still strong and have the strength to dance. As the inheritor of Nazikum, I am very proud. In the future, I will train more young people to pass on this folk culture," Turson said.

Editor: Qi Yue