Dream of The Past: Ancient Chinese Court Dances
Dance
Description
Description
Hong Kong Dance Company X Beijing Dance Academy
A Journey Back to the Golden Dynasties of China
Ancient court dances are one of the long-lost treasures of China. Resplendent, exquisite and ceremonious, they showcase not only China’s aesthetic achievement in the art of dancing but also her traditional culture in rite, music, etiquette, costume, poetry and song. To recover these hidden riches, Hong Kong Dance Company joins forces with the Classical Dance Department of Beijing Dance Academy to present Dream of the Past: Ancient Chinese Court Dances. The performance recreates, with extensive reference to archaeological archives, a representative collection of Chinese court dances from different times:
“Chu-style Waist Dancing” is a ritualistic dance of China’s pre-imperial period that bespeaks the admiration people had for slim waists before the 3rd century BCE. “Spring Excursion”, a female group dance of the 3rd to 6th century, portrays the charm of ancient beauties in their excursion, while “Duke Xie’s Shoes”, a male social dance from similar period, pictures a social gathering of eminent literati at that time. “Imperial Guards” manifests the chivalry and vigour of the palace guards of the Han dynasty, while “Maid of Honour with Fan” narrates the lives of highborn maidens of the Qing dynasty. “Small Victory Dance”, a dance trio of the Tang dynasty choreographed by the famous royal couple Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang Yuhuan, unveils the heroic bearing of the Tang armoured women. “Rabbit Headdresses” depicts the worship of the moon during the Song Dynasty, with girls dancing gracefully bathed in moonlight. In “Drum-top Dance”, four dancers perform a unique dance on drums, popular in the Han dynasty. Last but not least, four captivating episodes from the grand dance drama Dancing Girl of the Bronze Sparrow Pavilion display the dynamics of Han dynasty dance on drums and upturned platters. The pas de deux “Love Song with Drums” is a lovers’ discourse—the man plays a hand drum, while his lover dances atop another drum.
Join us in this journey to the past to explore the grandeur of the precious long-lost dance and culture of ancient China, in the Hong Kong premiere of Dream of the Past: Ancient Chinese Court Dances.
Director/Choreograher：Sun Ying
Info
$80
$300
Indoor
Local, Non-local
