▸Video Dance Props: Video Collage

A modern Han folk dance choreography created during the Mao era based on performance styles from Fujian Province. This dance uses two kinds of props: painted parasols and handkerchiefs. This recording is from the 1959 song and dance film Hundred Phoenixes Face the Sun (Bai feng chao yang 百凤朝阳), which features sixteen Mao era dance choreographies representing different regions and ethnic groups around China. To see other dances from the film, copy and paste 百凤朝阳 into an Internet browser.

A solo dance choreographed in the 1950s representative of the style known as Chinese classical dance (Zhongguo gudianwu 中国古典舞), which is inspired by Chinese opera movement, court dance, martial arts, and other historical Chinese dance traditions. The dance uses a pair of feather fans as props. This recording is from the 1959 song and dance film Hundred Phoenixes Face the Sun (Bai feng chao yang 百凤朝阳), which features sixteen Mao era dance choreographies representing different regions and ethnic groups around China. To see other dances from the film, copy and paste 百凤朝阳 into an Internet browser.

An excerpt from the beginning of the 1959 dance film based on Magic Lotus Lantern, the first full-length national dance drama (minzu wuju 民族舞剧) created in the Chinese classical dance style. The original production was premiered in 1957 in Beijing. Props used in this production include silk streamers, swords and other weapons, fans, a writing brush, and a dragon puppet. The story is based on the Chinese folk legend Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother (Pi shan jiu mu 劈山救母), in which a female immortal falls in love with a human man. She is punished for her transgression but later rescued by her son. To see other dances from the film, copy and paste '宝莲灯舞剧' into an Internet browser.

A modern Tibetan dance choreography featuring a combination of dance styles derived from Tibetan folk dances. This work was premiered in 1956 in Beijing. Props used in this work are round hand-held drums and elongated sleeves. It was co-created by male Tibetan dancer Oumijiacan 欧米加参 (b. 1928), who also stars in the work. This recording is from the 1959 song and dance film Colored Butterflies Fluttering About (Caidie fenfei 彩蝶纷飞), which features twelve Mao era dance choreographies representing different regions and ethnic groups around China. To see other dances from the film, copy and paste 彩蝶纷飞 into an Internet browser.

A modern military-themed dance featuring movement vocabulary in the style of Chinese classical dance (Zhongguo gudianwu 中国古典舞) to portray female soldiers. Props used in the dance are bayoneted rifles. This recording is from the 1964 military music and dance film East Wind Forever (Dongfeng wanli 东风万里). To see other dances from the film, copy and paste 东风万里 into an Internet browser.

An excerpt from the beginning of the 1965 film based on The East Is Red, a large-scale music and dance historical epic premiered in 1964 in Beijing. This scene, titled 'Sunflowers Face the Sun' (Kuihua xiang taiyang 葵花向太阳) is based on Han folk dance movements and uses double silk and bamboo folding fans as props.