[8] These six dances were said to have originated from the time of six historical or legendary figures:[3][9][10]. After the fall of the Gang of Four, the ballet company began to reform and change direction with the classical Western ballets resurrected, and also broadened its range to include more modern ballets from around the world.[27]. Modern dragon dance uses light-weight structure manipulated by a dozen or so of men using poles at regular intervals along the length of the dragon, and some forms of the dragon can be very long and involve hundreds of performers. [1] Some Chinese dances today such as dancing with long sleeves have been recorded since the very early periods, dating from the at least as early as the Zhou Dynasty. Primitive dance in ancient China was also associated with sorcery and shamanic ritual. Small-scale dances, performed during banquets and other occasions, may be divided into two categories: energetic dances (健舞), which are vigorous and athletic, and soft dances (軟舞), which are gentle and graceful. There are several types of traditional Japanese dance. 8 7 1. Dances became part of a more elaborate narrative; for example, the sword dance that depicts the Feast at Hong Gate would be followed by a depiction of the responses of Zhang Xu and Du Fu after watching the famed sword dance of Lady Gongsun. [52] It was a slow gentle dance that may be danced in groups but also as a solo, set to strings and woodwind with a humming chorus, with the dancers in elaborate costumes. [90] There are two main forms of the Chinese lion dance, the Northern Lion and Southern Lion. These are:[15], All the dances involved dancers holding objects such as feather plumes, yak-tails or shield, except the Dance of the People which is focused on sleeve movements. [23] Fu Yi's (傅毅) Lyric Essay on Dance describes the Seven Tray Dance (七盤舞, also called Tray Drum Dance 盤鼓舞), a fusion of acrobatics and dance in which the dancer leaps gracefully between trays and drums on the trays, which gets faster as the dance progresses. Most professional folk and classical dance forms in China are inspired by tradition, but are actually modern interpretations. [71], In the early 20th century, there was a call to "make use of old forms" of literature and art as a means of connecting with the masses. [65] More severe binding in the subsequent eras also restricted female movement which, together increasing social restrictions placed on women, would eventually led to the virtual elimination of female dancers in later eras.[66][67]. Sword dance, known as 剑舞 (jiànwǔ) in Chinese, has roots in many cultures throughout world history. These dances have largely disappeared from modern Han Chinese culture, although ritual dances are still found in some folk traditions and the cultures of ethnic minorities in China. [36] The Tang imperial court gathered the top dancing talent of the country to perform a lavish dance that incorporated elements of the dance of China, Korea, India, Persia and Central Asia. [68] Some of the familiar dances of present-day China were mentioned in the Song dynasty, examples are the Flower Drum (花鼓); Playing the Big Head (耍大頭), which is the Big-headed Monk (大頭和尚) of later eras where the performer wears a large head mask; and the Dry Boat (旱船) Dance which is known from previous dynasties where a boy may dress up as a girl wearing a boat-like structure made of cloth so that he appeared to sit in a boat, and accompanied by a boatman holding an oar. The first ballet school in China, Beijing Dance School, was established in 1954 with Dai Ailian as the principal and staffed by some outstanding Russian teachers, including Pyotr Gusev who instituted the Russian training system. [16], Aside from the formal and ritual dances, popular and folk dances are also mentioned in ancient texts. dance translate: 跳（舞），舞蹈, （輕快地）舞動；搖曳；跳動, 舞蹈，舞步；舞曲, （尤指正式的）舞會, 舞，跳舞, 舞蹈表演；舞蹈藝術. The animal representing the person’s birth year is known as Sheng Xiao. Among the best-known of the Chinese traditional dances are the Dragon dance and Lion dance, and both dances were known in earlier dynasties in various forms. [41][42][43], The Tang dynasty was the golden age of Chinese music and dance. 13 10 0. Pictorial representations of dance have been found in Chinese pottery as early as the Neolithic period (before 2000 BCE), showing people dancing in a line holding hands. These may have been people from poorer family who visited and performed in the women's quarters in the palace or at houses of the nobles. These dances incorporated singing as well as monologue and dialogue. 7 6 0. In China, the dance initially developed as a training exercise for soldiers before later turning into an acrobatic dance. 7 7 1. Folklore Dance Dancers. The Chinese have a zodiac system that consists of 12 animals representing different years. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, descriptions of professional dancing girls also appear in ancient texts. A form of lion dance similar to today's lion dance was described as early as the Tang Dynasty, the modern form of the dragon dance ho… 7 9 1. Nowadays, especially for younger generations, these traditional 'costumes' that were once customary to wear during the festival, are rarely worn anymore, meaning that there is technically no "official" Chinese New Year outfits. Dance in China is a highly varied art form, consisting of many modern and traditional dance genres. Performed by Dance Club - Traditional Chinese Dance. [46] Seated performances were conducted in smaller halls with limited number of dancers, and emphasised refined artistry. The imperial court of the Jin dynasty (265–420) was relocated to the south and many Han Chinese also migrated southwards due to pressure from the northern Hu tribes. [26] In modern China, it is common to find people using dance as a form of exercise in parks. Folklore Dance. [32], This period saw civil wars as well as conflicts with the northern nomads (Wu Hu), resulting in the splintering of China into multiple states and dynasties established by Han and non-Han Chinese people. A profusion of dances in popular and court entertainment as well as folk dances have been recorded in ancient texts. Liu Bang was also said to be fond of the war dance of the Ba people, called the Bayu (巴渝) dance and known in later eras in various names such as Zhaowu (昭武) in the Eastern Wu period and Xuanwu (宣武) during the Jin dynasty. Ne Zha is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. [29] It was popular in the 1940s Shanghai nightclubs, and early Communists leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai were also avid Soviet-style ballroom dancers. [10], The lion dance has been suggested to have been introduced from outside China as lion is not native to China. Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world's premier classical Chinese dance and music company, established in New York in 2006. [54][55] The Botou (撥頭, meaning here using the hand to sweep hair aside), from Central Asia, is another masked dance. In one account, a sword dance was said to have been performed by Xiang Zhuang at a banquet in an attempt to assassinate Liu Bang (the founder of the Han dynasty) at the Feast at Hong Gate. There are many minority groups in China and each have their own dances that reflect their culture and way of life. [27] In the following years ballets such as Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet were performed. Daxia was a dance performed in praise of Yu the Great of the Xia dynasty, famous for his work on flood control. In the later part of the 6th century, Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty ended the strife and division of China, and re-unified the country. Institutions were set up to oversee the training and performances of music and dances in the imperial court, such as the Great Music Bureau (太樂署) responsible for yayue and yanyue, and the Drums and Pipes Bureau (鼓吹署) responsible for ceremonial music. This is due in part to the increasing popularity of the practice of footbinding, which may have first arisen from dancers themselves but later tighter binding limited their movements, and greater social restriction placed on women may have also led to a virtual elimination of female dancers. https://www.chinahighlights.com/.../chinese-new-year/new-year-lion-dance.htm [47] It was performed with 120 dancers in gold-decorated armour with spears, but it can also be performed as a seated performance by four dancers in red silk robes. All were under the administration of the Drums and Pipes Bureau and an umbrella organization called the Taichang Temple (太常寺).[45]. During the Song dynasty, footbinding began to spread among the elite in China, and the practice may have started during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period among female dancers. Background: Again as the name suggests, the origin of this garment is the Tang dynasty. 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