Arts Studies and Criticism

Gannan tea-picking opera is a folk opera popular in the south of Jiangxi, among which "Liangdan Yichou" is the most representative way of performance. "Female roles" can be divided into "Xiao Dan" and "Cai Dan". The relationship of "Liangdan Yichou" in Gannan tea-picking opera can be roughly summarized as "the clown who plays the role of a female is responsible for matching, Zhengchou resembles the female character type in Beijing opera and “Fanchou”makes troubles. Cai Dan gives a beat of person with bad behavior. As the female character type in Beijing opera like three-inch “golden lotuses” (woman's bound feet in feudal age) encounters the exaggerated caricature like clown who plays the role of a female, the distinctive female dance performance style of Gannan tea-picking opera was formed. This paper aims to sort out and summarize the formation of the "female roles" dance performance in Gannan tea-picking opera and its unique character characteristics to have a clearer understanding of the aesthetic norms and artistic value of the dance performance of "female roles" in Gannan tea-picking opera to improve the cultural content of Gannan tea-picking opera and promote the inheritance and development of Gannan tea-picking opera as a whole.