An Art Form 5,000 Years in the Making
All but lost in the East, the essence of an age-old culture rises in the West. This is Part 1 of a nine-part series that explores traditional Chinese culture to reveal a deeper understanding of the genius of New York-based classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Classical Chinese dance is one of the most complex, expressive, and demanding art forms in the world, and New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has a mission to revive this divinely inspired culture.
For thousands of years in China, dance has been passed down through performances in the imperial court. Since ancient times, one conviction has remained—the Chinese people believe their traditional culture is a gift from the divine. Classical Chinese dance is part of that heritage.
“Even in ancient times we find dance,” said Ms. Yi Cao, a former judge with New Tang Dynasty Television’s Chinese International Classical Dance Competition, in a comprehensive video about classical Chinese dance on the Shen Yun Performing Arts website.
“When people were happy, the movements of the hands and feet became dance.”
Classical Chinese dance is a pure, unique, and complex art form, 5,000 years in the making. Each of China’s many dynasties brought with them their own distinct styles of dance. As the dynasties changed, the gems of each era became incorporated into the main body of classical Chinese dance.
“It’s a kind of cultural foundation that has been passed down, the Chinese people’s own treasure passed down over the generations all the way to today,” said Ms. H. Sue Guo, vice president of Fei Tian College, the first school in the United States that provides systematic college-level training in classical Chinese dance, in the video on classical Chinese dance.
For 5,000 years, many traditions in China were intricately connected, such as martial arts, folk dance, and acrobatics. With the passing of time, they became part of a single art form. Many strains of the Chinese culture became incorporated into classical Chinese dance. As a result, alongside ballet, classical Chinese dance stands as one of the world’s complete schools of dance with its own theories, techniques, and forms of expression.
The core of classical Chinese dance is made up of three main components: technical skill, form, and bearing.
Technical Skill
The technical part of classical Chinese dance features an array of leaps, jumps, twists, splits, spins, and tumbling techniques. While many of these skills are seen in other art forms like gymnastics and acrobatics, they actually originate from classical Chinese dance.
