Out of more than 130 dancers worldwide, 28 junior and 55 adult dancers advanced from the preliminaries to Saturday’s semifinal round of this year’s NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition. Fifty advanced to Sunday’s finals.
As with the previous two days, each contestant performs a short dance routine along with a set of required movements, demonstrating leaps, spins, and classical technique.
One highlight is the advanced movement method known as “the body leads the hands, the hips lead the legs.” Reintroduced by the artistic director at Shen Yun Performing Arts, the once nearly lost technique allows dancers to create powerful, sweeping movements that magnify both emotion and presence on stage.
“By extending the limbs, the movements and expressions become clearer, even for audiences far away. The higher positioning also makes the dance feel more grand, and the performers more dignified,” said Jenna Chen, a contestant in the Adult Female Division.
“It makes your movements look a lot longer, and it really gives people the feeling from, like inside, from your heart,” said Michelle Smith, a contestant in the Junior Female Division. “Because from your heart, it’s like here, and then it goes out through here, and then goes out into your body.”
Contestants say these techniques allow classical Chinese dance to convey emotions and tell stories more effectively.
“It’s using your body to speak, basically, so you’re able to say more than words can with your expressions, with your limbs and your movements, and you try to portray a character and try to tell the audience something,” said Justin Shi, a contestant in the Junior Male Division.
The story Smith chose to tell is especially poignant.
“This year I’m dancing a story dance about a young girl whose mother got taken away because she practices and believes in truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, and she practices Falun Gong,” she said. “Since last time after competition, I just thought, oh, I want to make something really meaningful next time. And then so I decided to make a story dance about what’s happening in China. And I want to tell everyone ... what the people are experiencing there.”
The heartfelt performances touched the audience.
“I’ve been brought to tears several times today, so it’s obviously they’re conveying the story in a very real way, very emotional way,” said James H. White, an audience member. “It’s amazing to use art as a way of communicating peacefully that story and the genocide that’s happening in China.
“And I think we can take lessons from what’s happening in China today and also what’s happening here in America today, around the world. We have to use peaceful strength and spirituality as a way of moving forward together as a society and culture.”
As powerful stories unfold on stage, the contest itself pushes forward to its final day.
