Corey takes photos during the Zuoquan She Huo Jie ("Community Fire" Festival) parade in Zuoquan County, Shanxi Province on Feb. 8, 2012. On Feb. 7-8, China.org.cn reporter Corey Cooper visited Zuoquan to view local She Huo Jie ("Community Fire Festival) activities during the Lantern Festival at the conclusion of the Chinese New Year holiday. [Photo: China.org.cn / Qiao Zhenqi]

Nearby, our group sat down for a mini-She Huo Jie dance performance created by a local dance troupe. The female performers, most aged 18-22, attended local high schools or nearby colleges. Despite the fact that they only had less than two weeks to prepare, they performed 11 dance acts for us, ranging from traditional to modern. Some of the dance routines incorporated everyday life customs such as gathering wheat and corn, to marriage customs, to more modern material, even a bit resembling interpretive hip-hop dance.

"We designed the acts according to the input of the group," the group's young director said. "It's a collage of the old and new mixed together."

之后，我们在他家附近坐下来欣赏当地舞蹈队自创的一场小型社火节舞蹈表演。女演员们年龄多在18到22岁之间，在当地高中或附近的大专学校就读。尽管准备时间不到两周，她们仍为我们表演了11个节目，有传统风格的，也有现代风格的。其中一些舞蹈动作融合了诸如收割麦子和玉米等日常的生活习俗、婚礼仪式、以及一些现代元素，甚至有点类似形意街舞。

舞蹈队的队长是个年轻的女孩，她说，“我们团队集思广益，设计了这些舞蹈动作，其中融合了各种传统和现代元素。”