Thoughts on NTDTV's Global Chinese Dance
Contest
By Yi Fu
NTDTV's 2007 production of the Global Chinese
New Year Spectacular, with Chinese dance performances being the main attraction,
presents a totally new portrayal of Chinese dance. Its sheer innocence, kindness
and beauty has touched audiences from many different nations and ethnic backgrounds.
The program has presented a new degree of beauty. Following the overwhelming
success of the Spectacular, NTDTV is launching a global Chinese dance contest
to promote cultural exchanges and to spread authentic Chinese culture. This
is also an opportunity to bring Chinese dance into the world arena, as well
as an important step to have Chinese dance included as one of the main art forms
in the international dance culture. This is not only an extraordinary event
for Chinese people worldwide, but also an important event in the world's
dance history.
Chinese dance is also known as Chinese classical dance, which peaked in the
Tang Dynasty. Because of wars, some Chinese dances were lost. In the Song Dynasty
when Chinese opera became popular, a large number of music and dance pieces
from the Sui and Tang Dynasty were preserved and included in the Chinese opera.
Marked by vicissitude, the Chinese dance has preserved its meaningful forms
and classical styles. It is capable of expressing all kinds of characters and
stories with its strict forms, movements and techniques. Learning from the essence
and the training methods of Chinese martial arts, Chinese opera and western
ballet, the Chinese dance has become an unique dance system that has incorporated
the essence of Chinese and western dance.
The Chinese dance has two important elements: Poetic quality and technique.
Poetic quality caries the meaning or the spirit of Chinese dance. Each Chinese
dance has its own unique poetic quality or its internal artistic connotation.
Technique refers to dance form and dance movement. It is about external expressions.
Poetic quality is the very core of Chinese dance. While the audience's
senses feast upon the Chinese dance costumes, colors and movements, their souls
will be cultivated and nurtured on a profound spiritual level.
Like a sea that is fed by hundreds of rivers, the Chinese dance is incredibly
rich in its form of expression. It is capable of expressing an array of emotions
of daily life, such as joy, anger, sadness, ecstasy, as well as the sour, sweet,
bitter and spicy aspects of life. Yet, it also includes the essence of the Chinese
divine culture. The poetic quality is what makes the Chinese dance a genuine
spiritual feast and what makes the audience want to recollect the pleasure and
ponder upon its meaning afterwards. Its poetic quality comes from the authentic
Chinese divine culture. It is capable of piercing layers of illusionary fog
that surround humans in this secular world, touching the kind nature deep in
the audience's souls and connecting with their hearts. It propels one to
reflect upon life and the meaning of life and leads one to a more positive life.
NTDTV's 2007 production of the Chinese New Year Spectacular, featuring
the Divine Beauty Art Troupe (which literally means Poetic Quality Art Troupe),
is warmly received by audiences in many different countries and ethnic backgrounds.
In fact, it has been showered with praise. The success of the Spectacular proves
that the Chinese dance has a lot of room for development, for it surpasses the
cultural and national gaps and is rich with artistic life and appeal. People
have begun to notice that Chinese dance belongs to the world and not only to
the Chinese people. Judging from its artistic value or cultural connotations,
the Chinese dance has the promising qualities that will propel it into the mainstream
of dance culture of this world. It will certainly become a leading force of
the world dance culture.
NTDTV's Global Chinese Dance Contest will be held in May 2007. It is
creating an opportunity for Chinese dancers throughout the world to present
and promote authentic Chinese culture. This is an important event in the world's
dance arena and a great joyful event for the best dancers to promote authentic
Chinese culture. We have been looking forward to the contest since the day it
was announced.
Posting date: 21/Mar/2007
Original article date: 20/Mar/2007
Category: Open Forum
