Chinese dance refers to traditional Chinese dance. Primitive dances appeared in China five thousand years ago. Now it is mainly divided into two categories: classical dance, and folk dance. Classical dances include court dances and dances in banquets of nobles and scholars. According to their functions, they can be divided into elegant dances and miscellaneous dances. Folk dances include sacrificial dances, festival dances, and daily self-entertainment dances in folk beliefs.
Chinese dance was born out of thousands of years of Chinese culture. The means of expression are mainly split into three categories: "hands, eyes, body, method", "shape, spirit, strength, rhythm", and "circle, twist, tilt, curve". The circle is based on the oriental philosophy that a "circle is beautiful" which means that whether it is a vertical circle, a flat circle, or a figure-shaped circle, they are all surrounded by the circle of life in dance; twisting includes twisting of the body; tilting is the inclination of the body. The dances of the past dynasties are quite fond of using body curves, such as three bends, sleeves and waist bending, as seen in the tradition of “Qu Judging” from the cultural relics unearthed in Chinese archaeology.
In Chinese dance, there is a rule of "If you want to go to the right, you should first go to the left; if you want to go to the left, you should first go to the right; if you want to go up, you should first go down”. Dancers must master the combination of hardness and softness, and the coexistence of reality and illusion in order to show the essence of Chinese dance, forming the uniqueness of this tradition. In these types of dance, there are always contrasting mentalities such as: " movement in stillness, and stillness in movement", "whenever you rush, you must be patient”, “when you want to open, you must first close”, and “if you want to go first, then wait until last".
Today's Chinese dance is mainly divided into two types: classical dance and folk dance.
There are three elements in Chinese classical dance: "synchronicity", "body" and "skill". The "skills" of Chinese classical dance include many difficult movements such as jumping, flipping, and turning. At first, these were core to martial arts, where on the battlefield soldiers needed use these methods to fight, before they were repurposed for court dances. With the evolution of the past dynasties, it gradually became a part of culture. That is, the "skills" of classical dance were formed. "Synchronicity" refers to the unique national charm formed by cultural inheritance, emphasizing the inner charm, breathing, thoughts, verve, and inner emotions. For example, the movement route based on the "three circles" movement (the waist as the axis of "lifting, sinking, rushing, leaning, containing, shoving, shifting, and lifting") These basic elements endow Chinese classical dance with rich expressiveness and plasticity, which can deeply describe the action and inner emotions. [1] Additionally, dance can let humans express themselves with the elements of shape, strength, spirit, and law, so as to achieve "both form and spirit, unity of internal and external, and use of body and mind" to "lead form with spirit, expressing spirit with form".
One of the characteristics of Chinese folk dance is the close combination of dancing and singing. This form of singing and dancing is very free and lively. It can express the contentness of life better than pure dance, and it is easy to understand, hence making it so widely loved by the Chinese people. The skillful use of props and the combination of skills, such as with fans, handkerchiefs, long silk, tambourines, single drums, flower sticks, lanterns, and flower umbrellas, amongst others. This greatly enhances the artistic expression ability of dance, and makes dance movements more rich, beautiful and colourful.
Costume props
Chinese dance has special costumes, usually in the style of Hanfu, but the costumes of classical dance are somewhat different from the Hanfu worn in daily life. The costumes of Chinese dance have certain specifications, and there are differences to be found within the past dynasties. There are no strict regulations on costumes for miscellaneous dances and folk dances. The dance clothes of miscellaneous dances are that some dance clothes have very long sleeves or have “water sleeves”, often accompanied by drapes; the costumes are varied. Common props include fans and umbrellas. Clothing for folk dances are usually the daily work clothes of ancestors. Before the Qing Dynasty, Hanfu was used. After the Qing Dynasty, as well as after the trend of shaving hair and changing clothes, folk dance costumes changed accordingly. Some modern dancers continued wearing Hanfu, and some dancers wore it as well — modern designs with Chinese elements.
Music
Dances were often accompanied by music. Elegant dances are combined with elegant music, while folk dances used with folk music. However, some folk dances did not have musical accompaniment.
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悅 舞 鳴
Japanese dance