Chinese Dance: A Window Through Which to Appreciate Chinese Culture and A Way to Return to Perfection of Body and Mind

The New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) Chinese New Year Spectacular has vividly presented a form of traditional Chinese dance and has brought to life popular Chinese stories from different dynasties that have been well-known in China throughout history. Examples of such stories as "Mulan," "The Loyalty of Yue Fei," "The Monk Who Endured," "A Dunhuang Dream" and others were succinctly represented. NTDTV, through the medium of Chinese dance, has opened a window into Chinese culture for the enjoyment of people around the globe, to fully enjoy the divine beauty of the five thousand years of China's divinely-imparted culture and rich spiritual content.

Those who have watched the Spectacular are often amazed by the breadth and profoundness of the Chinese culture. The art of Chinese dance has surpassed the language barrier. It opens a window to help the world understand and enjoy Chinese culture. Watching the New Year Spectacular, the world's people can gain insight into the extraordinary, historic grand painting scrolls, representing specific Chinese historic figures, myths and legends and the spiritual gems of the divinely-imparted Chinese culture.

The five thousand years of Chinese culture have provided incomparably broad cultural background and topics for Chinese dance. This rich subject matter from which to draw also enables the dances to possess the all-encompassing power of expression as well as demonstrate superb creativity.

The NTDTV Spectacular dance performances are such examples. The dances depict many historical figures, and all of them are vividly represented. They include loyal and compassionate Yue Fei; worthy, elegant and brave Mulan; Yue Fei's compassionate and patriotic mother; the forbearing monk; the pious and faithful sculptor; quick and nimble children; heavenly maidens, grand and sacred gods and Buddhas, and more.

The different characters in the dance numbers are of different genders, ages, dynasties, and social strata. Through the various dynamic performing styles, the dance scenes are one by one cohesively presented, together with the rich and varied movement and exquisite body postures, different characters, stage designs, lighting, and props. With the change and flow of the dance scenes, the language of the dance naturally and smoothly unfolds different stories, one after another... While appreciating the beauty of the dances, the viewers could, through the dancers' graceful postures and the unfolding stories, get to know the characters depicted in the dances and understand the meaning of the stories.

After the Spectacular's worldwide tour is over, NTDTV will host the first Global Classical Chinese Dance Competition. The competition aims to promote traditional Chinese dance art, which expresses purity, kindness and beauty, enhance the creation of Chinese traditional dances, and promote world cultural exchange. It is believed that this grand competition will inevitably bring people to a new spiritual epoch.

Culture and the arts are very closely linked to people and their lives, and they have a long-term and profound impact on the social morality. Confucius said, "Nothing is more effective than music in improving existing habits and customs," "through music, one can gain insight into a government," as well as, "knowing one's morals by watching one's dances" (from Yue Ji, that is, Notes on Music). Promoting pure, kind, and lovely dances will also inevitably play a role of raising people's morals and correcting people's behaviours.

Chinese dance covers very broad and profound topics. The dances extend back through the five thousand years of China's history, to dozens of dynasties, different races, numerous folk stories, historic figures, classic stories, myths, and legends. Chinese dance expresses different aspects of morality, such as compassion, loyalty, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, filial piety, etc. While appreciating the performing arts on a purely artistic level, people can also understand the rich connotations of the divinely-imparted Chinese culture.

For those individuals who are involved in Chinese dance, the purity and righteousness of Chinese dancing can lead the dancers to effectively develop perfect bodies and minds. Chinese dance emphasises "body gestures" and "gesture connotations," and expresses the fundamental spirit of the Chinese divine culture, that is "uniting spirit and body gestures" and "leading movements with spirit," or, "using movements to convey spirit."

Chinese dance requires the dancers to undergo strict physical training. The movements need to be not only accurate and precise, but also subtle and able to convey the spirit; that is, "every action and every movement need to be accurately defined, and every look needs to be follow the preset rules." The requirement of the body movement is that a single dance movement from one part of the body should lead to the movement of the whole body; once one part moves, the whole body moves; all movements are interrelated. Any movements of hands, eyes, and feet have to follow the movement of the whole body.

This requires that dancers not only to have good mental cultivation, but also to be able to "let the spirit lead the movements," to precisely control every part of the body. Therefore, the performers of Chinese dance not only need to solidly master the basics of Chinese dancing, but also have strong willpower as the foundation. While perfecting their physical bodies and dancing skills, the dancers also need to perfect their moral character and willpower.

In Yue Ji (Notes on Music), Confucius said, "Music is a sublimation of morality." So, being a part of the music, a dance should also bring people the enlightenment of morality. This thus brings out the requirements for the dancers' moral cultivation. The dance story, "A Dunhuang Dream" can perhaps bring people some realisations. When a person believes in and respects gods and Buddhas, and emphasises moral behaviour and knows propriety, he or she will gain enlightenment, inspiration, superb skills and creativity. A dancer's spiritual realm will be reflected in his or her dances; what an artist with a pure and clean and bright heart can bring to the viewers will certainly be pure, righteous and beautiful.

Chinese dance, with its uniqueness, purity, righteousness and elegant styles, will bring the glory of the Chinese divine culture back to centre stage, lead new cultural trends and construct mankind's new culture of purity, compassion, and beauty.