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Descriptions Eight Generals A main part of Taiwanese religious festivals is the parade, full of spectacle and noise, which comes through the city streets. Prominently featured in the parade are the eight generals, ghostly figures from the underworld in charge of catching evil spirits. Masked and armed with torture instruments, they serve as grisly warning to potentially wayward souls. Four of the generals represent the four seasons: Spring General He carries a bucket, Summer General Chang carries an incense burner, Autumn General Xu carries a steel mace, and Winter General Cao carries a snake. Generals Gan and Liu carry long sticks. General Xie is usually tall, thin, and dressed in white, and General Fan is short, round, and dressed in black. They carry a headcuff and a warrant for arrest. The ninth figure is a servant who carries miscellaneous weaponry; this servant stands at the head of the brigade and leads the generals in the parade. Photos: () Back to list Coin Stick Dance This dance is popular at major festivals in many parts of China. Dancers use bamboo sticks inlaid with coins to make rhythmic clanking sounds, which signify wealth and prosperity. Photos: (1) Back to list Children at the Harvest Festival It is a tradition for farming villages in Taiwan to thank the gods at harvest time by putting up a show at the plaza in front of a temple. This dance shows a group of naughty children who have come to be the audience at the show, but became the ones being watched. Photos: () Back to list Tiao Gu It is said that this dance is an imitation of combat drills from 200 years ago, performed by the villagers of Taiwan to defend themselves from foreign invasion. The flag-bearer represents the commander, and the umbrella shields the head of an invisible god, whose presence offers protection to the people of the village. Photos: () Back to list Flower Drum Dance This dance originated from Fong Yang, a central Chinese region where lands are constantly flooded. Poor artists would therefore be forced to leave their homeland. They then performed this dance to make a living. Photos: () Back to list The River Turns Red In 1140 AD, the hero, General Yue Fei, led his army to fight against the Jing barbarian invaders. He was about to capture their capital city when the emperor sent him twelve decrees on gold tablets ordering him to retreat. Angry at being forced from the brink of victory after ten years of hard fighting, Yue Fei wrote this poem to voice his bitterness and sorrow. Photos: () Back to list A Joyous Gathering The mountain aborigines of Taiwan hunt, fish, and grow crops to make a living. When a harvest is especially fruitful, the people rejoice with singing and dancing, thanking the heavens for giving them good fortune. Photos: (1) Back to list Sleeve Dance in an Imperial Court The sleeve dance has a long and colorful history in China. The oldest sleeve dance, called Hsien Chih, dates back to 11 B.C. and was taught to children of royal descent to be performed solely in ritual events. Not until the Period of Warring State (403 - 222 B.C.) did the dance discover a role in occasions of entertainment, as well as develop a unique sophistication and artistry. The composition being presented today was inspired by archaic representations of the sleeve dance in ancient Chinese art, such as stone engravings, or in illustrations that accompanied the texts of Chinese histories. Photos: () Back to list Po-Lun Drum Dance The Po-Lun drum is a popular toy in China. Young children play with the drums and dance happily with their friends. Photos: (1 2 3) Back to list Ribbon Ball Dance During holidays and other celebrations, the Chinese like to tie ribbons into floral, spherical shapes, hanging them up or dancing with them to create a festive atsmophere. Photos: (1) Back to list Stick Dance There are conflicting versions of the stick dance's history. Some refer back to the king of Tzu (circa 200 B.C.), who was renowned for his refined handling and execution of the whip; admirers copied his movements and composed the dance. Others say that dancers used sticks to hit different parts of their bodies to describe a poor maid being beaten hard by her master. Whatever its background, the stick dance has diverged considerably from its origins at the hands of artists. It is now applicable to a spectrum of different moods, appropriate for all ages, and often inlaid with coins or combined with other props, such as fans and handerkerchiefs. Photos: (1) Back to list Handkerchief Dance The handkerchief is a prop often used by female Chinese dancers. The handkerchief used in this dance derives its unique octagonal shape from the superposition of two square pieces of fabric. By tossing and turning their props, handkerchief dancers are able to present an exciting, highly acrobatic show. Photos: (1) Back to list Boating on a Spring Lake Every year, spring approaches China and unfurls its many splendors. Boatwomen can be seen paddling softly and briskly across the lake while maidens take long walks across the banks, patiently awaiting the arrival of the boats. In this dance, performers move gracefully in tune with the natural harmonic motion of the waves, undaunted even by the arrival of an unexpected storm. The picturesque result portrays a beautiful day spent boating on a spring lake. Photos: (1 2) Back to list Diu Diu Dong This Taiwanese folk song portrays the excitement of village children in the countryside upon seeing a train for the very first time. Diu diu dong is a nonsense phrase describing the sound of the water dripping onto a train car when it passes through tunnels after a rain. Photos: (1 2) Back to list Banquet Dance At banquets and feasts of the past, people celebrated by simply picking up their cups and plates and using them to improvise dances. This tradition was carried into our modern-day world as a formal dance in which performers apply the idea of using silverware in a more intricate fashion. Photos: (1) Back to list Episode of Journey to the West A narrative sketch presented in honor of the year of the monkey, inspired by the excitement and adventure of Journey to the West The evil spirit, who is a blend of various villains from the epic novel, obstructs the way to the scripture. Most notable among her weapons are the entangling silk ribbons, modeled after the sticky threads of the spider spirit. The sly monkey king pulls one of his tricks by transforming a handful of his hairs into a legion of miniature combat monkeys. The evil spirit is distracted and aggravated by the monkeys until the monkey king returns to face her in a final battle. Photos: () Back to list Flying Apsaras The title of this dance refers to the heavenly flying fairies depicted in the frescoes on the walls of Tunhuang's Mogaku Cave, located along the Silk Road in China. The cave was a resting place silk merchants on the Silk Road, who painted and sculpted these fairies and goddesses for safety on the dangerous journey. The silken ribbons of the fairies are rainbows suspended in the sky, with an orchestra serenading the heavens. Lotus flowers are scattered by the goddesses as a token of benevolence to the mortal world below. Photos: () Back to list Feather Fan Dance The feather fan dance is marked by antiquity and splendor. Gentle gestures and elaborate formations create the air of dignity and poise that is customary in imperial dances of the ancient courts. Photos: (1) Back to list Iron Fan Dance The fan's versatility has placed it among the most popular props in Chinese dance. Some types of fans evoked the elegance and mien of idyllic strolls through opulent courts and flourishing spring gardens, and were thus fondly painted into many a portrait by many Chinese artists. Other fans were constructed from a papery material, upon which poets and artists improvised their inspirations in hurried brush strokes. The fan in this dance is taken from the diverse arsenal of kung fu. Sharp, controlled movements and manipulations of the prop convey the majesty of martial arts. Photos: (1) Back to list Chasing Butterflies In this dance, little children frolic playfully in a garden, looking at and trying to catch butterflies. Photos: (1 2) Back to list Taiping Drum Dance This folk dance originates from Northeastern China. Often witnessed on festival days, the dancers beat handheld drums to produce a vigorous, driving rhythm. Photos: (1) Back to list Peacock Dance This dance comes from the southern part of China, where the minority group called Di reside. The Di worship peacocks as symbols of felicity and believe that the majestic creatures bring tranquility and happiness. Here, dancers simulate the movements and behavior of peacocks. The stately birds stride with style, promenading confidently to a waterhole and proudly displaying their beauty for all to see. Photos: (1 2) Back to list Ribbon Dance In honor of the Year of the Snake, the ribbon dance is set to the traditional melody of "Golden Snake's Wild Dance." This dance uses ribbons to recreate the writhing motions of a snake's sinuating body. Photos: () Back to list Handbell Dance of Xinjiang This dance traces its roots back to a minority group in the northwest of China known as the Uygurs. As entertainment, children tie bells around their wrists, dancing with energetic movements to the rhythm of the jingling bells. Photos: (1) Back to list Yi Zhen In rural Taiwan, religious holidays draw the people outdoors to attend lively performances involving dances and parades. With this dance, dancers try to recreate the festive qualities of those performances with a spirited medley of excerpts from dances like the traditional lion dance, the Song Jiang dance, the clam and the fisherman, the drumming dance, and the monkey king and spider spirit. Photos: () Back to list Chuh Gu This piece typically appears in rural Taiwanese parades. When rain comes after a prolonged drought, men clap bamboo sticks, women wave fans and scarves, and everyone dances joyfully together. Photos: () Back to list Sword Dance The Peking Opera, having undergone the late 19th- and early 20th-century crisis of national identity of mainland China, was brought to Taiwan as one of the most stylized and codified forms of Chinese art. This dance is accompanied by music arranged from a Peking Opera melody and captures the discipline, skill, and grace of Chinese martial arts. Photos: (1 2) Back to list Carrying a Youth Piggyback A young girl straps a head to waist mannequin of an old man to the front of her body, giving the appearance that someone is carrying her. In this dance, a grandfather brings his granddaughter to catch butterflies. Photos: () Back to list Happy New Year Dance The Happy New Year Dance is a collection of rural folk dances often seen in Lunar New Year celebrations. Little girls beat their cymbals to chase away evil spirits while young ladies dance with auspicious red fans and scarves to enliven the atmosphere. Lions bring good luck to the people, and ribbons symbolize a constant flow of fortune for the year to come. Photos: (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) Back to list |
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