During the late Qing Dynasty, the Yingjiang Gan Ya Tusi Office organized Dehong's first-ever Dai opera troupe. Soon after, Dai theater spread to other regions of Dehong, and within a short time, all ten Tusi administrations in Dehong established their own Dai opera troupes and built dedicated performance halls. At the same time, Dai theater began to trickle down from the Tusi courts into local communities, giving rise to numerous grassroots Dai drama groups. After the founding of New China, Dai theater experienced a new era of growth. In 1960, the first professional performing group—the Luxi County Dai Opera Troupe—was established, and by 1962, it had expanded into the Dehong Prefecture Dai Opera Troupe.