Chinese Dance

Classical Dance

One major category of Chinese dance is called Gu Dian Wu Dao which means classical dance. China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Therefore, there are many "classical" periods in its long history. Since the successful production of the dance drama Rain of Flowers on the Silk Road which was choreographed after the paintings found in the Dun Huang caves, people in all regions started to find their "roots" and reconstruct their own "Classical" dance. Most of these dances have been newly choreographed as attempts to reconstruct the dance of the past based on the present day's understanding and knowledge of dance vocabulary. In addition, people have also researched available historical records of dance materials such as relics, paintings on caves, written descriptions of dance in ancient poems and literature.

Soon to come: a video excerpt of a classical dance interpreted by our associate artistic director Emily Cheung. A pair of long ribbons are used in this dance to represent the softness, and circular forms of clouds.

Click to learn about Dun Huang dances, which is a subcategory of classical dance.