What Is This Weird Chinese Opera Teeth Thing??

Shua Ya: Teeth Play

Dating back 400 years, this Ninghai Pingdiao opera tradition involves performers sporting carved boar tusks like fangs, manipulated by tongue and lips. The movements of the teeth are meant to convey emotions - gnashing rage, chattering fear, or playful flicks for joy.

Masters of the art dedicate years to grinding natural boar tusks to fit their own teeth, carefully preserving them in water. Mastering the skill takes years of practice to control the tusks with tongue pressure and facial manipulation and there are only a few practitioners active today.