Chinese Dance

Overview of Unit

2/17: Overview of China’s history and Dance Forms

3/1: Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble (Video)

3/2: Chinese Folk Dance class (Yanko Ribbon Dance) Dragon Boat research

3/7, 3/8, 3/11, 3/14: Dragon Boat Construction

3/17: Dragon Boat Ceremony Practice

3/21: Dragon Boat Ceremony

Facts about China

Official Name: People’s Republic of China

Capital: Beijing

Official Language: Mandarin

Area: 3,680,000 square miles, third largest country in the world

Facts

Geography: Mountainous, more than 68% of the country is above sea level

Two major rivers: Yangtze and the Yellow

30 million people live near the Yangtze River. The rice crops make it China’s most prosperous region.

Facts

Population: just over 1.3 billion

One child policy (1979)

Republic of China (Taiwan): four fifths of the island’s 20 million people descend from settlers of the 1600’s. Two million fled the mainland for Taiwan after Mao Zedong took power in 1949 during the Communist Revolution.

Hong Kong: Returned to China rule in 1997. Has 5.8 million people who inhabit only a tenth of the colony’s 1070 square miles.

Communist Government ruled by Chairman Hu Jintao

History of China

5000 B.C. Farmers along the Yangtze are among the first to grow rice

3000 B.C. Yangtze settlement produces silk and carved jade

2000 B.C. Shang Dynasty. Priest-kings preside over ancestor cults in villages on Northern China plan

551 B.C. Confucius born

History

220 B.C. Qin Dynasty. China unified by Qin Shi, the first emperor. Great Wall built.

126 B.C. Han Dynasty. Chinese explorers foray into Central Asia. Silk ribbons used for dancing.

220 A.D. Buddhism spreads to China

600 A.D. Tang Dynasty. Blossoming trade with the West through the route across Central Asia called the Silk Road

History

690 A.D. Empress Wu

1200 A.D. Mongol Dynasty. Genghis Khan and later his grandson Kublai Khan ruled China. Unified Chinese theatrical form begins to take place.

1600 A.D. Manchu Dynasty. Last dynasty in China. Peking Opera emerges from the combination of four regional styles of acting.

1911 A.D. Dr. Sun Yi-Hsien leads the Wuchung uprising establishing the Republic of China.

History

1921 A.D. Chinese Communist Party formed in Shanghai

1931 A.D. Chinese Civil War led by Mao Zedong

1949 A.D. Chiang Kai-Shek flees to Taiwan leaving China in Communist hands. Era of the People’s Republic of China begins.

1989 A.D. Numerous attempts at economic reform fail in the 40 years of Communist rule. Protest for democracy at Tiananmen Square gains global attention as the army fires on demonstrators.

1997 A.D. Hong Kong returned to China after 99 years of British rule. Economic reform creates new hopes in China. Trade gap between America and China grows bigger.

Chinese Dance

Closely linked to and reflective of life experiences and concerns

Divided into two broad categories: court and folk

Folk dance is divided into four categories: ceremonial, dramatic, martial, and agricultural

Chinese Dance

Court dances date back to the Qin Dynasty (220 B.C.) and were performed in the palace of the emperor.

Reached it’s height of sophistication in the Tang dynasty and was depicted in the poetry, paintings and sculpture of that period.

Chinese Dance

There are two types of court dance.

One based on the Chinese warrior exercises such as martial art fighting forms

The other is based on Confucian etiquette and ritual codes.

Today, aspects of these ancient court dances can still be seen in traditional Peking Opera and ritual ceremonies in Confucian temples.

Chinese Dance

Folk dances in China vary from region to region and include dances from over 50 distinct indigenous ethnic groups within China

A Chinese dancer today is expected to study the classical court dances embedded within the Peking Opera movement style as well as numerous folk dances.

Melting Pot

Like the U.S. China is a nation of many different nationalities. Each has its own history, language and tradition, and maintains its own distinct customs of styles of dress.

The Han make up the majority of China’s population. Some of the larger minority groups are the Mongols, The Dai, and the Miao.

The Han

The Lion Dance and the Dragon Dane are popular for celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year.

These two animals represent strength, courage and vitality and are intended to be good symbols for the coming year.

The Hans also use marital arts in many dances manipulating swords, daggers, and sticks.

Han dances are distinguished by the use of many hand-help props including fans, handkerchiefs, drums, and tambourines.

The Mongolians

Nomadic people residing in Inner Mongolia on China’s northern border.

They travel on horseback, herd cattle and sheep and live in “yurts”.

Mongolian dance contains robust and sweeping gestures suggestive of the wide open grasslands of their home.

The Dai

Reside in the Yunnan Providence next to the border of Laos.

Area of tropical rain forests where people live in wooden houses supported by wooden stilts to raise them above the water line.

The most famous Dai dance is the Peacock Dance, which portrays a peacock spreading it’s tail, flying, sipping water, strutting and bathing.

The peacock motif is also seen in many designs in Dai clothing and decorative arts.

Chinese Dance

Chinese dancers begin training at a very young age and are required to study martial arts, acrobatics and stylized theatrical movements on a daily basis.

Dance technique typically includes work with props such as handkerchiefs, ribbons, ritual weapons and fans.

Characteristics of Chinese Dance Forms

Emphasis on hand and eye coordination

Use of circular patterns in space with every part of the body

Extensive use of props

Stylized steps and gestures

Unique emphasis on movement accents in relation to the music

Chinese Music

The music of China sounds very different from Western music

The orchestra includes wood-wind, string, and percussion instruments

Metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourds, clay, hide and wood are used to make instruments

Chinese Music

The Pipa (Pee-pah) is a four-stringed Chinese lute or “balloon guitar”. It is three feet long and one foot wide.

The strings are steel wires covered with silk or nylon. They are plucked much like a banjo.

Chinese Music

The Erhu (Ar-hoo) is a two–stringed type of violin.

Chinese Music

Guban (Goo-bon) is made up of two flat pieces of hardwood or bamboo that are loosely tied together on one end. The instrument is held upright by one hand and clapped together, thus producing a sharp clacking sound.

Chinese Music

Tanggu (Tong-goo) is a traditional Chinese drum that is usually suspended by four rings in a wooden stand. It is medium in size and barrel-shaped, with two heads made of animal skin, and is played with two sticks.

Differences from European Dance Forms

Most Chinese dance forms use circles and spiral patterns to symbolize harmony

Western dances tend towards linear and elongated movements

Complex finger gestures as well as hand-eye coordination

In most Chinese dance forms three elements are present: Jin (concentration), Chi (flow of energy), and Shen (Spirit)

These three aesthetic values are distilled from the major philosophies of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism which constitute the cultural values of the Chinese