Chinese dance with fans. Folk Chinese Dance

Each nation has its own unique traditions. Travelers who come to China often admire colorful local customs, national clothes in a unique style, distinctive holidays, unusual cooking, combining sweet and spicy ... A special place in the eastern culture is occupied by Chinese dance.

Cultural traditions of China

The Chinese, like no other people, take care of their national culture: they honor the traditions of their ancestors and do not seek to adopt the customs of other peoples. From ancient times to the present day, the traditions of greeting, wedding ceremonies, relations in the family, the ceremony of tea drinking, hieroglyphs, the specific sound of musical instruments, folk Chinese dance have almost unchanged. Surprisingly, the rapid modernization of the country has hardly affected its traditional positions. The unity and strength of the nation lies in its great culture, thanks to the preservation of which a billion-dollar society lives in stability and harmony.

Chinese dances

There are many ethnic groups in China. Each of them has its own shade of cultural traditions. This also applies to dance art. However, in every province there must be a dance, in which an attribute such as a fan is used. Almost at every festival you can see folk Chinese dance with this subject. Dancers in bright colorful costumes gracefully move, as in ballet, emphasizing their movements with a miniature fan. Festively decorated fan can fold and unfold, make big strokes and hardly tremble, shimmering with its patterns, airy rim at the top.

Nowadays , dance with fans is performed both in national costumes and in ordinary clothes for studio production. He can learn from friends, in the family circle. Widespread education of this art in schools. Children's dance (Chinese), according to parents, should teach the younger generation to respect and cherish the traditions of their people. This is so important that often dance with fans is included in the school curriculum.

In its essence, this is not a studio number, but a family tradition, which is passed on from generation to generation.

Varieties of action

There are two varieties of this dance: civil and military. Most often you can observe the civil form of execution. It is more smooth, graceful, gliding, the movements of the participants are aimed at expressing beauty, tranquility. In addition to creating the necessary composition, according to the statement, very often performers improvise.

Military Chinese dance imitates various kinds of fighting movements, it can be seen during military parades, exhibitions. Instead of a fan, weapons are usually used. But the techniques are very similar in both kinds, just military arrangement requires more precise and rigid movements. Very often in military dance there are elements of martial arts.

The Birth of Chinese Dance

The history of Chinese dances goes back to the depths of 4 millennium BC. Ritual group movements gradually degenerate into real art. Movement could be both smooth and dynamic. Increasingly, additional attributes, such as scarves, fans, feathers, were used to impart brightness and identity.

Chinese dance with fans appeared during the reign of the Han dynasty. The Han Empire lasted the longest in Chinese history (206 BC - 220 AD) and was marked by a cultural and economic flowering. The imperial family tried to collect all the dances existing on the territory of the country and document it. After their reign, the main ethnic group was called "Han."

Historians and cultural experts are convinced that it was thanks to the efforts of the representatives of the dynasty mentioned up to our times that various traditional Chinese dances, including a surprisingly beautiful action with fans, came to us.

Dragon and Lion

During the celebration of the New Year, they necessarily perform the Dragon and Leo dance. These traditional Chinese rituals are not dances in the usual sense. In the first case, a certain group of people holds a huge dragon doll on poles, an average of 25-35 meters in length. The dragon must move, making wavy movements. It is believed that the larger and longer the scarecrow, the more luck it will bring in the next year. The team that controls the doll, sometimes includes up to 50 people. During the celebration, there may be several dragons.

In the performance of the Lion dance, the protagonist is also the doll, and not the artists who make her move. The lion is much smaller than the dragon and is controlled by only two people inside the figure. Elements of the dance go back to the movements of martial arts.

Court craftsmanship

Do not forget the so-called court dances, created and performed in ancient times at the court of the emperor. This, for example, is the dance of the cavalry of Prince Qin, the dance of Nishan Yui, Tsipan, Baia, etc. Let us consider one of them in more detail.

The dance of the cavalry of Prince Qin glorifies the strength and power of his army. He had to show courage, the greatness of the soldiers, the readiness to repel the enemy's blow at any moment. The Emperor himself composed music and invented the movements of performers. The audience involved a huge number of participants: more than a hundred dancers, singers, musicians. The play depicted battle scenes. First they demonstrated combat training, construction, then simulated episodes of battle and victory. Note: no defeats! Always only victories!

Fans in other cultures

Dance with fans is known not only to Chinese culture. There is a Japanese, Korean dance, having no less deep roots and their own specific differences. The period of the appearance of the Japanese dance with a fan is the period of the reign of Emperor Jimmu (according to various sources, around 600 BC or about 300 BC), at the court of which performances with this accessory were often staged. In the Japanese production there are more singles. The dance is very slow, calm, its simple monotonous elements are also supplemented by improvisation. A special role is assigned to the fan. In the first place put forward its beauty, so the lion's share of effort is spent on making this subject. For special techniques, Japanese masters could make a fan of sandalwood with ivory, mother of pearl, gold and precious stones.

In the 30s of the 20th century, dances with fans appeared in America and quickly became very popular there.

Chinese dance in the ballet "The Nutcracker"

Eastern culture once inspired Peter Tchaikovsky. In his brilliant ballet The Nutcracker, first presented on December 6, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater, there was a place for Chinese dance with fans. In the second act, after the arrival of Clara and the Nutcracker and before the Waltz of Flowers, there is a divertissement (addition to the play, an "insert" number, not connected with the plot), representing the inhabitants of the sweet city of Confetenburg. All sweets that you can imagine - sherbet, candies, candied fruits, pastilles, gingerbread, marmalade, chocolate, nuts, caramel - can be drunk with chocolate, tea or coffee. In honor of these three drinks, 3 actions are put. The dance of "Tea" was declared by Tchaikovsky as Chinese, "Coffee" - Arabic, "Chocolate" - as a Spanish dance.

The first divertissement opens Chocolate, bringing with it the sounds of pipes, castanets, red robes. Behind him is Coffee - a leisurely, pensive, as if frozen heat of the Arab desert. Delicate violins are complemented by cellos. Then comes Tea.

Chinese dance "Tea" is performed in the style of the Chinese people's action with fans. In some productions, other items are used instead of them, and sometimes the whole emphasis is made purely on the arrangement of the hands and the corresponding movements reminiscent of a possible fan. Dancers are dressed in costumes with national symbols. Chaikovsky's Chinese dance was diversified by a combination of high and low registers of flute and bassoon, creating a slightly comic, like a toy, effect.

The divertissement is completed by the adaptation of the Russian dance "trepak", the performance of the cowherds and the comic number of Mamashi Zhigon.

The Chinese dance "The Nutcracker" demonstrates the complexity of ballet dance movements, which require long training, special skills and efforts.

Modern attitude

Today, interest in acting with fans is growing. This beautiful uncomplicated art can be learned not only in China, Japan and Korea, but also in other countries.

Although the performance something like a ballet (smooth, tact, grace), but the movements are not so complicated, and the production itself serves other purposes. Classical Chinese dance emphasizes expressiveness and coordination, the complexity of techniques goes to the background. It is wonderful for children. The simplicity of the repeating elements and the colorfulness of the costumes and attributes make it possible to use this art widely in children's institutions. Preschoolers and older children are pleased to demonstrate their skills on matinees, dance contests, concerts, etc.

Children's dances (Chinese) can be found in Russia. In order not to be unfounded, we give an example. In 2012 the collective of toddlers of 6-7 years took 1st place at the festival of children's creativity "Zhyrlysym kile" for the Chinese dance with fans. His performance was not too intricate, but the elegant costumes, combined with the picturesque wings-fans, turned the dancers into small paradise birds.