Chinese Dance

Historical Background

Chinese dance has a long history. By the time of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC), large-scale works involving sacrificial ceremonies were performed at court. The great poet Qu Yuan described performances popular at sacrificial ceremonies in the State of Chu in his Nine Odes.

Traditional dance reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Rainbow Skirts and Feathered Robes was a famous music and dance composition much in vogue at the Tang court and among officials. As the Chinese theater developed in the Song and Yuan dynasties, dance gradually became an integral part of opera performance. However, a wide variety of folk dances were still very popular, some continuing to be performed down to modern times.

Modern Western dance was introduced into China in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s various song and dance ensembles were formed and secondary-level professional dance schools were established in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. With the help of famous dancers, such as Wu Xiaobang and Dai Ailian, a batch of professional dancers were trained. A number of outstanding dancers began to appear, including Shu Qiao, Zhao Qing, Chen Ailian, Zhang Jun, Zi Huajun, Bai Shuxiang, Shi Zhongqin, Sigutariha, Cui Meishan, Dao Meilan and Ayitula. Many of them won gold and silver medals abroad.

Dance professionals have collected and revised a great number of traditional and folk dances and created new Chinese dance-dramas and ballets. Many new dances were composed on themes from Chinese revolutionary history and contemporary life.

Folk Dance and Modern Dance

All 56 ethnic groups in China have their own rich and distinctive dance traditions. According to incomplete statistics, more than two thousand dance forms were discovered and revised between 1949 and 1966. After revision these folk dances took on a brand-new appearance. Retaining traditional folk styles, they also showed the outlook of people in the new society. Among the many excellent ethnic dances are Lotus Dance, Red Silk Dance and Lion Dance (Han), Herdsmen’s Dance (Mongolian), Fan Dance and Long Drum Dance (Korean), Tibetan Dance (Tibetan), Grape-Picking Dance and Tambourine Dance (Uygur), Peacock Dance (Dai), Joyous Yi People (Yi), Happy Miao People (Miao) and Straw Hat Dance (Li), which have won praise from audiences in China and abroad.

A great number of dances on historical and contemporary themes were created in the seventeen years before the “cultural revolution,” such as Long Live the Victory of the People and Great Unity Among All Chinese, on the great victory won by the revolutionaries; The Five Heroes of Mt. Langya, Storming Luding Bridge, on themes from revolutionary history; On the Road to Camp for Field-Training and Laundry Song, about life in the People’s Liberation Army and relations between the army and the people, and other beautiful and wholesome dance works. After the “cultural revolution,” great breakthroughs were made in regard to theme, genre and style in works such as War Drums on Gold Mountain, Good-bye Mama, Hope, Little Golden Deer and Scholar and the Fairy Carp.

Modern Dance-Drama and Ballet

Dance-drama is a new artistic form in China. In the early years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China Chinese choreographers created a few dance-dramas on historical and contemporary themes, drawing on techniques from dances in traditional opera and from folk dance. Productions of this type, such as Master Dongguo and Stealing Magic Herbs, laid the foundation for creating a native Chinese school of dance-drama. The folk-opera and dance-drama group of the Central Experimental Modern Opera Theater was formally organized into China’s first dance-drama troupe in 1954 and later divided to form the Chinese Modern Opera and Dance-Drama Theater and the Central Modern Opera Theatre. The former is now responsible for the creation and performance of native Chinese dance-drama and modern opera. In addition, the Shanghai Modern Opera and Dance-Drama Theater and other local song and dance troupes are engaged in Chinese dance-drama. By 1966, after a dozen years of effort, a native dance-drama theatre with a distinctive Chinese style had been built on this foundation and the experience of foreign works. Among the successful works of this period were the Small-Dagger Society, on a peasant uprising in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, and the Magic Lotus Lantern, a fairy tale. In recent years dance-drama has been most active. Excellent works include Along the Silk Road, composed by the Gansu Song and Dance Troupe, about the friendship between Chinese and foreigners in the Tang Dynasty; Flying Celestials Dance, composed by Shaanxi Song and Dance Troupe; Dance to the Bell Chime, by Hubei Song and Dance Troupe; Princess Wencheng, by the Chinese Modern Opera and Dance-Drama Theatre, a historical tale set in the Tang Dynasty; and Flight to the Moon, a fairy tale, and Yue Fei, a classic dance-drama, by the Shanghai Modern Opera and Dance-Drama Theater.

Another important factor in the development of dance was the introduction of European ballet. The Chinese government invited foreign ballet teachers to start a ballet class for advanced students in 1954. The Experimental Ballet Company of the Beijing School of Dancing, the first ballet company in China, was formed in 1959 and performed famous European classic ballets such as Swan Lake, the Fountain of Bakhchisaray and the Corsair. Later it staged more than ten ballets, including Giselle, Coppélia, La Fille mal gardée and Notre dame de Paris. The first ballet dancers received their training through actual performance. In 1964 the company produced Hong se niang zi jun (The Red Detachment of Women) and Bai mao nü (The White-haired Girl), on revolutionary history. After 1979 some works of Lu Xun, Ba Jin and Cao Yu were made into ballets, such as the New Year’s Sacrifice, Family and Thunderstorm. The company also performed Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale the Little Match Girl.