Classical Chinese dance can entrance audiences everywhere. Yet few people realize how training plays a critical role in perfecting the graceful moves shown by classical Chinese dance performers.
Even though the thousands-of-years-old dance form is not yet widely known in the Western world,
Classical Chinese Dance can portray universal feelings like joy and sadness, the experience of mild annoyance.
Celestial maidens in paradise, scholars enjoying a drinking game, China’s longest reigning emperor, the thugs of the Cultural Revolution, the legendary and super-normal Monkey King– these are just a few of the characters Shen Yun Performing Arts brings to life in its recent global tour.
In the short Ten Years Shen Yun has been around, it’s thrived from one to six companies of equal size, performing all-new programs around the globe each year. This year’s program features some 11 performances of classical Chinese dance, together with performances of ethnic or folk dance, Bel Canto vocal solos, and an erhu solo.
Leaps, Twirls, and Flips in Classical Chinese Dance Audiences can notice that classical Chinese dance combines dynamic leaps, flips, and other aerial techniques with a gentle elegance, and can even be moved to tears by the performance. But they may go out of the theater wondering at exactly what the inner springs of this powerful art form are.
On its website, Shen Yun helps audiences go further. It divides the practice into three main types: form, technique, and bearing.
Apart from learning the basic components like expressing innermost feelings, classical Chinese dance performers must also master the dance acting element.
Performance Highlights with Angelia WangClassical Chinese dance may be distinguished from modern martial arts in that the former focuses on the body’s expressiveness. Martial arts, on the other hand, concentrate on swift and explosive movements.
Classical Chinese dance also mirrors a rich cultural legacy spanning centuries.
Learn more about the origins and historical transmission of classical Chinese dance from the reputable dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts at What is Classical Chinese Dance – by Li Hongzhi.