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Dance and Theatre in Chinese Culture

Chinese Opera

Chinese Opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China. Early forms of Chinese theatre are simple but over time, Chinese Opera has incorporated various art forms such as music, singing, dance, martial arts and acrobatics. There are many varieties of Chinese Opera. Some examples include Beijing Opera, Cantonese Opera, Shanghai Opera and Teochew Opera. 

Chinese Dance

Dance in China is a highly varied art form, consisting of many modern and traditional dance genres. The best known Chinese dances today are the Dragon dance and the Lion Dance. 

Chinese Classical Dance

  • Boasts a wealth of techniques, roughly categorised into jumps, turns, fanshen, control and tumbling techniques

  • Movements express a variety of feelings 

Chinese Traditional Dance

"Flowers contend in beauty"

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