NEW YORK—The International Chinese Classical Dance Competition concluded its second round of competition at the New York University Skirball Arts Performing Centre on July 7. Twenty-two dancers were selected from the thirty-six competitors, to enter the finals on July 8. The audience was surprised by the rich expression of Chinese Classical Dance.
Cao Yi, vice chairman of the judging committee and a Chinese traditional dance artist, praised NTDTV for staging such a grand gathering, and for creating the first international forum for Classical Chinese dancers from around the world to express their arts. The competition offers a great opportunity for dancers to demonstrate their skills and share their understandings of Chinese traditional dance.
Cao said, "We hope that the competition will promote the orthodoxy of Chinese classical dance amongst the international art community, to develop it into a fresh and important art form on the world stage."
One audience member, a businessman named Mr. Qiu, commented on the wide range of varieties and styles; some performances were very lifelike, while others had lingering charm. He noted that the competition gives a platform for artists from all over the world to display their talent freely.
Mr. Seth Kaminsky,a lawyer, appreciates all dance forms, including Chinese dance. He said that the performances in the contest were all very good and full of expression. "I can see different people, mountains and water, in the stories. It helps me to have a better understanding of the spirit of Chinese culture. It was interesting."
Noemy Hermandez, a singer, said that this is her first time watching a large-scale Chinese dance competition. She saw it as a very good opportunity to understand the Chinese culture. Chinese Classical Dance is very unique, she said; it is very expressive and can convey a very wide range of content.
Brian Hanna is an engineer. He said that classical dance is the quintessence of Chinese people. It is also a bridge that links Chinese and western cultures. Brian expressed gratitude to the host for providing this bridge for Westerners to understand Chinese art and culture.
Mr. Zhang Tianliang writes a column for the Chinese Epoch Times. Zhang commented that the participants' standards were quite high. They displayed all kinds of difficult techniques.
"For Chinese classical dance, skill is not the most important. The artist's moral cultivation and understanding about the Chinese culture will dissolve into the performance. People can see that their movements are not that complicated, but it is very beautiful, and have long-lasting charm. In Chinese dance there is a saying: "The movement stops but not the expression." It gives people space to recollect and savor what the dance is trying to express," said Zhang.
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