Mongolian desert tale inspires dance drama

The dance drama Kubuqi focuses on the theme of environment protection. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"When we decided to make a dance drama to talk about the environment, especially combating desertification, we naturally thought of the fable, which best shows what we wanted to say to the audience," says composer Cha Gan, who is from Ordos and spent two years finishing the composition for the dance drama.

Growing up in a herder's family on the grasslands, Cha, in his 50s, recalls he couldn't see the sheep while they were grazing in his childhood because the grass was tall. But about three decades ago, his hometown was hit by desertification. Efforts were made by the local people and the government to tackle the situation and improve residents' living standards.

"The desert's harsh environment resulted in poverty. The loss of grasslands is painful for herders who live by raising livestock. But now that we have got the grasslands back, we should protect them," says the composer, who has used traditional Mongolian elements, such as the morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) and khoomei (throat-singing), to tell the story in the dance drama.