The Language of Chinese Dance

By Kay Bel/Epoch Times Australia Staff
Mar 31, 2007

"Ladies of the Manchu Court" (NTDTV)

Chinese dance is a comprehensive system, strict in its sense of precision and unity yet unrestricted in its visual language and capable of depicting all forms of beings and emotional expression through bodily and facial movement.

The Divine Performing Arts dance troupe has just finished their Australian tour of their Chinese New Year Spectacular – a show which successfully and admirably displays their mastery of not merely expression through dance, but communication of traditional Chinese values and mythology through the immensely rich language of Chinese dance.

Michelle Ren, lead dancer and choreographer of Divine Performing Arts described the differences between the classical ballet of European culture and classical Chinese dance: "For classical ballet, there are specific postures and positions... It's similar to when you're comparing Chinese-style painting to Western-style paintings, you also see these differences. The Chinese painting pays more attention to inner meaning and how that's being expressed, whereas in Western painting, they pay more attention to the composition, the framing and more precise detail. I think it is similar to the artistic features of dance."

Yet the movements of classical ballet is prominent in the early training of Chinese dancers and is evident in the dancing of Divine Performing Arts. According to Ms Ren´s personal experience, ballet training is a good foundation for Chinese dance. "It's good to start with ballet because it helps people to stand up straight, neck straight and everything straight, their arms... everything has the formality in it," says Ms Ren.

"At the same time, when we are practising Chinese dancing, we pay great attention to the rhythm, the meaning, the messages within each movement," she said.

Chinese dance can be generally divided into two categories, classical dance and folk dance. Chinese classical dance is particularly comprehensive and abundant in its vocabulary. Taking different forms in each historical dynasty, Chinese classical dance has absorbed elements from all areas of Chinese culture including Chinese opera, martial arts and spirituality.

When choreographing a piece representing an aspect of a particular dynasty, Ms Ren explains the level of research required to accurately portray the subject: "When I choreographed the Ladies of the Manchu Court dance, I had to go back and study the Qing dynasty, the history, the culture, customs. First I have to understand the culture then I know how the movements are expressed. That's where we get our inspiration from," she says.

In that particular performance, members of the Manchu court perform an imperial dance accompanied by royal Manchu-style music. As the ladies enter the stage walking elegantly in raised shoes, they face the audience and move their arms by their sides in soft waves, as if emphasising each step, in a repeated movement that is both steady and mesmerising. Ms Ren explains that this particular arm movement was "how they greet each other, greet higher authorities" in the Manchu court. In addition to the endless dance inspirations available through China's many dynasties, China's many ethnic groups provide a rich source of expression of different regions and customs through Chinese folk dancing.

Ms Ren spoke of the dance, "Herding on the Mongolian Plains" which she choreographed- "It's very free spirited. There's a masculinity in there, a strong sense of independence... their integrity, and pride of being Mongolian."

Within this dance, male dancers jump and bounce, depicting the typically Mongolian horseback travel across the wide-open steppes. Adjusting their arms and speed throughout the dance the audience can almost feel wind in their hair as if they were riding themselves.

In another movement in the dance that is said to be imitating the wings of a flying goose or hawk, the men, off their horses, move slowly, arms outstretched, towards the stage backdrop of the vast Mongolian plain. Accompanied by traditional Mongolian long song singing, the dancers, on their knees, lower their heads backwards onto the stage, as if lying down on the grass plain and in an expression of their great connection with the land and their traditions.

However the dance vocabulary is not standardised says Ms Ren, "It's not particularly fixed, that if I do this movement, it means that. But it's more about how you convey the meaning. [As long as it] conveys the meaning and inner strength, we will use that movement."

Through their performances, the Divine Performing Arts troupe have opened a wide door to a greater appreciation of Chinese dance. The bodily expression can be understood by a speaker of any language, yet its accurate interpretation and performance is one that cannot be separated from its cultural, ethnic or historical roots.