Chinese dance with fans of movement. Chinese fan dance

The traditional Chinese dance with a fan was born in the Middle Kingdom more than two thousand years ago. An ancient form of folk dance, the fan dance is believed to serve a variety of purposes and is highly valued by the Chinese.

Why do the Chinese dance with a fan?

Also, the Chinese fan dance serves as a very good physical workout for its participants. Like many other forms of dance, fan dance choreography requires considerable physical fitness. Attending training sessions also fosters a sense of responsibility.

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Classification

Ancient Chinese culture is perhaps one of the most mysterious and unique in the world. E As cultural experts note, in Chinese dances (as well as in music and literature) the main idea is the desire for perfection and everything beautiful.

War dance with fan

The military doesn't even use a fan during the fan dance - they just completely adopted all the movements from the civilian fan dance to give the group of dancers fully coordinated movements. This is used during military exercises and exhibitions. Therefore, you can often see how military personnel use their weapons during the dance in a similar way to how civilian performers use fans, imitating the same movements, but in a more violent manner.

Suits

Fans are used to highlight the movements and costumes of the dancers. As fans of this unusual art note, the movements become even more graceful and gentle. The fan adds a special beauty that cannot be conveyed by more modernized forms of dance. Fans can also be used as an attribute that depicts anything from a food basket to a treasure chest. Fans are also often decorated with feathers, precious stones, bamboo leaves or other similar decorations, which add an additional effect to the unusual dance.

Chinese fan dance training

Each nation has its own unique traditions. Travelers coming to China often admire colorful local customs, national clothing in a unique style, original holidays, unusual cooking that combines sweet and spicy... Chinese dance occupies a special place in Eastern culture.

Chinese cultural traditions

The Chinese, like no other people, treat their national culture with care: they honor the traditions of their ancestors and do not seek to borrow the customs of other peoples. From ancient times to the present day, the traditions of greeting, wedding ceremonies, family relationships, tea ceremony, hieroglyphs, and the specific sound of musical Chinese dance have survived almost unchanged. It is surprising that the country's rapid modernization had virtually no effect on its traditional positions. The unity and strength of a nation lies in its great culture, thanks to the preservation of which the billion-strong society lives in stability and harmony.

Chinese dances

There are many ethnic groups living in China. Each of them has its own flavor of cultural traditions. This also applies to the art of dance. However, in every province there is always a dance in which an attribute such as a fan is used. At almost every festival you can see Chinese folk dance with this item. Dancers in bright colorful costumes move gracefully, as in ballet, emphasizing their movements with a miniature fan. A festively decorated fan can fold and open, make large swings and barely flutter, shimmering with its patterns, an airy border along the upper edge.

Nowadays, the fan dance is performed both in national costumes and in ordinary clothes for studio production. You can learn it from friends and family. Teaching this art in schools is widespread. (Chinese), according to parents, should teach the younger generation to respect and cherish the traditions of their people. This is given such great importance that fan dancing is often included in the school curriculum.

At its core, this is not a studio act, but more of a family tradition that is passed down from generation to generation.

Varieties of action

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

Chinese military dance imitates various types of military movements; it can be seen during military parades and exhibitions. Instead of a fan, a weapon is usually used. But the techniques are very similar in both types, it’s just that the military arrangement requires clearer and more rigid movements. Very often, military dance contains elements of martial arts.

Birth of Chinese dance

The history of Chinese dances goes back to the 4th millennium BC. Ritual group movements are gradually degenerating into real art. Movements could be both smooth and dynamic. Increasingly, additional attributes were used to add brightness and originality to the action - scarves, fans, feathers.

The Chinese fan dance appeared during the reign of the Han Empire, which lasted longer than any other in Chinese history (206 BC - 220 AD) and was marked by cultural and economic prosperity. The imperial family tried to collect all the dances existing in the country and document them. 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 mentioned dynasty that various traditional Chinese dances, including the amazingly beautiful performance with fans, have reached our times.

Dragon and Lion

During the New Year celebrations, the Dragon and Lion dance is a must. These traditional Chinese rituals are not dances in the traditional sense. In the first case, a certain group of people holds a huge dragon doll on poles, on average 25-35 meters in length. The dragon should move, making wave-like movements. It is believed that the larger and longer the scarecrow, the more luck it will bring in the coming year. The team operating the doll sometimes includes up to 50 people. There may be several dragons during the celebration.

When performing the Lion dance, the main character is also the doll, and not the artists who make it move. The lion is much smaller than the dragon and is controlled by only two people inside the figure. Elements of dance are derived from martial arts movements.

Courtly craftsmanship

The so-called court dances, created and performed in ancient times at the court of the emperor, are also not forgotten. These are, for example, the dance of the cavalry of Prince Qin, the dance of Nishan Yui, Qipan, Bayu, etc. Let's consider one of them in more detail.

The Prince of Qin's Cavalry Dance glorifies the strength and power of his army. He had to show the courage, the greatness of the warriors, and the readiness to repel the enemy’s blow at any moment. The emperor himself composed the music and came up with the movements of the performers. A huge number of participants were involved in the performance: more than a hundred dancers, singers, musicians. The performance depicted battle scenes. First they demonstrated combat training and formation, then they imitated episodes of battle and victory. Note: no defeats! Always only victories!

Fans in other cultures

The fan dance is known not only to Chinese culture. There is Japanese, which has no less deep roots and its own specific differences. The time of the appearance of the Japanese dance with a fan is considered to be the period of the reign (according to various sources, about 600 BC or about 300 BC), at whose court performances with this accessory were often staged. In Japanese productions, single performances are more common. The dance is very slow, calm, its simple monotonous elements are also complemented by improvisation. A special role is given to the fan. Its beauty comes first, so the lion's share of effort goes into making this item. For special techniques, Japanese craftsmen could make a fan of sandalwood with ivory, mother-of-pearl, gold and precious stones.

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

Chinese dance in the ballet "The Nutcracker"

Eastern culture once inspired Pyotr 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 the Flowers, there is a divertimento (an addition to the play, an “insert” number not related to the plot), representing the inhabitants of the sweet city of Confetenburg. All the sweets you can imagine - sherbet, lollipops, candied fruits, marshmallows, gingerbreads, marmalade, chocolate, nuts, caramel - can be washed down with chocolate, tea or coffee. In honor of these three drinks, 3 actions are staged. The dance of “Tea” was declared by Tchaikovsky as a Chinese dance, “Coffee” as an Arabic dance, and “Chocolate” as a Spanish dance.

The first to open the divertimento is Chocolate, bringing with him the sounds of trumpets, castanets, and red robes. It is followed by Coffee - leisurely, thoughtful, as if frozen in the heat of the Arabian desert. Delicate violins are complemented by cellos. Next comes Chai.

The Chinese dance “Tea” is performed in the style of a Chinese folk performance with fans. At the same time, in some productions other objects are used instead, and sometimes the entire emphasis is placed purely on the position of the hands and the corresponding movements, reminiscent of a possible fan. The dancers are dressed in costumes with national symbols. Tchaikovsky diversified the Chinese dance with a combination of high and low registers of the flute and bassoon, creating a slightly comic, toy-like effect.

The divertissement is completed by an adaptation of the Russian dance “trepak”, a performance by shepherd boys and a comic performance by Mama Zhigon.

The Chinese dance “The Nutcracker” demonstrates the complexity of ballet dance movements, which require long training, special skills, and effort.

Modern attitude

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

Although the performance is somewhat reminiscent of ballet (smoothness, tact, grace), the movements are not so complex, and the production itself serves other purposes. Classical Chinese dance emphasizes expressiveness and coordination, while the complexity of techniques fades into the background. It is wonderful for children. The simplicity of the repeating elements and the colorfulness of the costumes and attributes allows this art to be widely used in children's institutions. Preschoolers and older children are happy to demonstrate their skills at matinees, dance competitions, concerts, etc.

Children's dances (Chinese) can also be found in Russia. In order not to be unfounded, we will give an example. In 2012, a group of 6-7 year old children took 1st place at the Zhyrlyysym Kile festival of children's creativity for their Chinese dance with fans. His performance was not too intricate, but the elegant costumes, combined with picturesque fan wings, turned the dancers into little birds of paradise.