Classical Chinese dance can open a door to another world. Here are the highlights from day one of the 10th NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition, at the Purchase College Performing Arts Center in Purchase, New York.
Patrick Feng is a contestant in the competition. His piece is inspired by a story from Chinese history.
“I’m dancing a character called Zhang Sanfeng. He is the founder of Taiji boxing. He spent around maybe 30 years just to find a master. And then after he found a master, he spent another 30 years just cultivating by himself. And so eventually, he obtained the Dao.”
Contestants perform two types of pieces for judges. On top of the storytelling pieces like Mr. Feng’s, they also perform ones that demonstrate their technical abilities.
And there’s something deeper to classical Chinese dance.
“I would say this art form is my way of life,” Mr. Feng said. “Because through it, I’ve improved so much as a person. It’s helped me understand more from my heritage, because growing up in the West, I wasn’t too connected to it. But after learning dance, I felt like I became a lot closer to … I felt more connected to this culture, you know, and I’d never realized how truly magnificent it was until after I studied dance.”
Mr. Feng will perform his piece Friday in the adult preliminaries. He says this experience will help improve his skills.
“I felt like just through this competition, these few weeks of preparing for it, I improved so much in myself because I’m constantly looking at myself in the mirror, recording myself, having the teacher watch me individually. So I find out more about my strengths, my weaknesses, and just how to improve myself in general.”
NTD will be live streaming the semifinals and finals this Saturday and Sunday on our social media platforms like YouTube and on our website at NTD.com.
