Dragon Drum is popular in the countryside of Jinzhou, Shijiazhuang City. According to the historical records, it was called "Ya Drum" in the Yuan Dynasty. When it was performed, the drum is carried on the performer's waist, hanging between the legs. So it is also called "carried drum". The performers mostly dressed up as warriors in order to show the soldierly, hefty and manly feelings.
The Chinese nation is the successor of the dragon. And Year 2000 is just the Dragon Year and Millennium. The playwrights make a further reform of the drum opera to express Jinzhou natives' mental outlook that is valiance and industriousness, harmony and up-going. Therefore, the former name is changed into "Dragon Drum" which is performed.
"Dragon Drum" is reformed and recreated from following aspects: 1. The reform of dress. The person who beat the drum used to be the warriors, while now is the children. As a result, the new clothes are made to fit the children' mood and highlight their characters. 2. The reform of props, skills and points in beating drum. The drum is used to be fastened in the waist and hung under the knees. So it hard for the person to move. By now, the surface of the drum is changed to 32 cm. So the drum can be fastened tightly on the waist. And it is easy for the people to jump and turn over. 3. The reform of the music score. In line with the need of the idea of "Dragon Drum Dance" and children' emotion, the picture and composition of the dance are enriched. On the basis of former music score, they also recreated some new plays, such as "General-gathering Drumbeats", "Opening Drumbeats", "Muddled and Hasty Drumbeats" and " Angling Fast Drumbeats" etc.
