Name: Judge Shares Insights, Expectations for NTD’s Classical Chinese Dance Competition
Uploaded: 2023-10-02T22:16:10.000Z
Description: The NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition is set to begin next month, running from Sept. 7 to Sept. 10 in New York state. NTD's Chris Beers spoke with William Li, one of the judges for the competition.

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The NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition is set to begin next month, running from Sept. 7 to Sept. 10 in New York state. NTD's Chris Beers spoke with William Li, one of the judges for the competition.

Chris Beers:
William, tell us about your expectations for the competition this year.

William Li:
I'm really looking forward to see what kind of difficult technical movements and artistic expression of each and every dancer and how they perform and bring it to the audience. And really, I want to see the contestants make a connection with the audience.

Mr. Beers:
What can the audience expect from the competition this year?

Mr. Li:
Well, you'll be able to see a lot of very difficult technical movements performed by the dancers. The dancers will have a narrative piece and also a technical piece. So in the narrative piece, you will see them portray a lot of different characters from Chinese history, from 5,000 years' history. They can portray any single character because classical Chinese dance is very, very expressive. And in the technical piece, you'll see a lot of different and very amazing and spectacular technical movements.

Mr. Beers:
Can you give us an example of one of those character pieces?

Mr. Li:
I've seen a lot of pieces with the Monkey King; or they can portray different generals from different time periods defending their country. It's really very diverse.

Mr. Beers:
What's the Monkey King?

Mr. Li:
The Monkey King is from "The Journey to the West." That is a classic novel in China. And he's going on a journey from the Tang capital, all the way to the West with his master. There's a group of four people, and they're on this journey to get these sacred scriptures from the West.

Mr. Beers:
So this Monkey King piece is an example of how classical Chinese dance can be narrative. But then there's also, like you mentioned, a more technical type of performance that performers will be performing this year.

Mr. Li:
Right. So what we really want to see is how the contestants are able to tell the story while also incorporating these difficult technical movements into their pieces. It's very, very seamless, how they incorporate it. And each movement has to have a lot of emotion behind it. That's something that's very crucial to classical Chinese dance—inner expression. And that's something I'm looking forward to seeing.

Mr. Beers:
And you were saying before that that's one of the things that separates classical Chinese dance from other forms of dance.

Mr. Li:
Exactly. So classical Chinese dance has a very strong emphasis on something we call "shen yun." And this is like the bearing of a dancer. So how I can explain it, it's every single movement is carried by your emotions. And more than that, it's almost a reflection of what kind of person you are. So what kind of morals you have in your daily life, how you think, your life experiences—this is all reflected in your "shen yun" and through your dance movements.

Mr. Beers:
And so that's one of the criteria you'll be evaluating contestants on this year?

Mr. Li:
Yes, "shen yun" is a very important criteria.

Mr. Beers:
So how do contestants develop this quality?

Mr. Li:
So there are movements that you can practice to develop "shen yun," and it's like very, very simple movements. Just by doing it, you can—you want to practice moving while carrying emotions behind these movements. But more than that, what's really important is also a cultivation of your moral character. You really, as a performer, you want to bring positivity to the audience. And what you have to do is, you have to always have positivity in your daily life. And you have to do a lot of self cultivation, almost, like improving your moral character. And I think that reflects in your performance.

Mr. Beers:
So who you are off stage is who you are on stage, is what you're saying?

Mr. Li:
I think it's really important, yes.

Mr. Beers:
It's fascinating. You don't usually think about that. Usually people think, "Oh, I got to go improve my skills, lots of practice," and they almost forget about their life outside of the stage.

Mr. Li:
Yes. So it's very important.

Mr. Beers:
So what would you say is the biggest difference between classical Chinese dance and, say, ballet?

Mr. Li:
Both art forms are very distinct and they both have a very long history. Classical Chinese dance has 5,000 years of history. So through generations and through dynasties, classical Chinese dance has been passed down through the imperial courts and through the people. And throughout time, it has been absorbing the essence of Chinese history and Chinese culture. What you see on stage today is an accumulation of all that history and culture. So it's something that's really, really special.

Mr. Beers:
And how does it compare to say, modern dance? I imagine it's a much bigger difference.

Mr. Li:
Modern dance really emphasizes freedom of expression, I would say, and fluidity, but in classical Chinese dance, there are still guidelines, and we call this "shen fa." So this is the name of the poses, the requirement for the poses, and everything in between, like the process. So you have to be within that proper requirement for each move of classical Chinese dance. Once you go outside of it, it's not classical Chinese dance anymore.

Mr. Beers:
Now let's hone in on the standards for the competition. What kind of standards are you looking for, specifically, for the contestants?

Mr. Li:
I would really like to see the contestants be able to combine these technical movements that are very difficult, and also their artistic expression. So every single movement, when they're doing it, I hope they're not doing it just for the sake of that movement. You have to do it to help portray your character, to help tell your story. So even something like a difficult tumbling technique, it will be used at the climax of your dance. And it really helps tell your story instead of just doing a tumbling movement to show off.

Mr. Beers:
And you were saying before, how the same move could take on a different characteristic in a different performance, say in a happy performance about joy versus a dark or sad performance about war.

Mr. Li:
There's a movement called "shuang fei yan" where you kick the jump and split your legs right beside you. This movement, it's pretty explosive, but there's a lot of different moments in your dance where you could use it, depending on your character. So if you wanted to express joy and you're very, very happy, you do a "shuang fei yan" all of a sudden, and then you keep dancing. So you can also express it maybe in the heat of battle, because it's almost similar to a martial arts movement, you jump and you're in the middle of battle. Or you can also use it to express sorrow too. It all depends on your story at the time and how it helps you portray that character.

Mr. Beers:
In 2021, the artistic director of Shen Yun Performing Arts, Mr. DF, introduced a special technique to the public known as the body moves the hands, and the hips move the legs, in English anyways. Maybe you can tell us how to say that in Chinese and what it means exactly.

Mr. Li:
So that's a technique that was almost lost. But Mr. DF taught it to us, and it's something that we're striving to revive right now. The Chinese name is "shen dai shou" and "kua dai tui." So "shen dai shou" would be "the body leads the hands." So for every single move involving the upper body, you want to move your body first before your arms. And what this does is, let me give you an example, if I wanted to reach for you, if I just use my arms like this, it's kind of short. But if I use my body to reach you, or if you try to reach me, it's a lot longer. So our movements are elongated. So on stage, what you'll see is the dancers' movements, their poses, are elongated and their expressiveness is also amplified. "Kua dai tui" is similar—so that's involving the lower body—your hips would lead your legs. So it'll also elongate your movements. But because your hips are using force, what ends up happening is the movements also become a lot easier to complete. So if you're doing a jump, your hips will help you.

Mr. Beers:
So it adds dimension and richness.

Mr. Li:
It almost helps in every aspect of dance. Your movements become more beautiful because it's longer, and it almost becomes easier to move. You feel more graceful, more agile, and you would have a grand air about you when you're dancing. So the audience will really notice the difference, I think.

Mr. Beers:
How many dancers in the classical Chinese dance world are aware of this, would you say?

Mr. Li:
I think it's something that is essential to classical Chinese dance. So a lot of dancers are striving towards "shen dai shou" and "kua dai tui." And in the competition, you'll see a lot of dancers who are very proficient in "shen dai shou" and "kua dai tui," but there are only a very select few dancers who have truly mastered it and embodied it.

Mr. Beers:
So it's a relatively new technique. As a judge, do you have some kind of unified criteria for assessing this technique, as it's displayed by the performers in the competition?

Mr. Li:
Yes, all of the judges will be looking and seeing how proficient and how the dancers are able to execute "shen dai shou" and "kua dai tui" in their performance. And it really just enhances your dancing, so we'll definitely be watching out for that.

Mr. Beers:
Got it. So just talking about the technique a little bit more. Is there any overlap between, say, classical Chinese dance and ballet? Do they share any particular techniques?

Mr. Li:
There are a lot of technical movements that I've seen that are used in both ballet and classical Chinese dance. And this is because a lot of art forms influence each other. And classical Chinese dance has 5,000 years of history. So naturally, I've noticed that there are other art forms that have borrowed a lot of the movements in classical Chinese dance. One example is the tumbling movements that you see in classical Chinese dance have been borrowed in acrobatics and gymnastics, but the requirements and aesthetic standards are different in these different art forms.

Mr. Beers:
Tell us a little bit more about the specific aspects of classical Chinese dance you'll be looking at in the performers this year.

Mr. Li:
I'll really be looking out for the artistic expression and "shen yun" of each contestant. And I want to see that the contestants are doing a movement not just for the sake of doing that movement, but it really has to help them portray their emotion and their character. And it's something that takes a lot of practice so it's not very easy, but I'll be watching out for that.

Mr. Beers:
Yes, and we touched on that a little bit earlier. We also talked about how some performances really require a certain amount of acting skills.

Mr. Li:
Exactly. So the acting skills in classical Chinese dance is very important. And it's very different actually in that each movement has to have emotion behind it. So for example, if you were to play a character in maybe a play, you would just talk, you would act in your body, and you're portraying that character. But in classical Chinese dance, you have to dance and do all these different technical movements while also portraying that character. So all of these things have to help you portray that character. So it's pretty different.

Mr. Beers:
The purpose of the NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition is to promote authentic dance characterized by beauty, goodness, and purity. What can performers do to best exemplify these values in their performances this year?

Mr. Li: 
If you want to portray beauty, purity, and goodness onstage, I think the most important thing is to try to put these values and live by these values in your daily lives. The way that you carry yourself normally is going to be how you carry yourself onstage, and it's going to reflect your dance movements.

I think there's a lot of Chinese stories and lessons that we can learn while we look back into Chinese history, and maybe not just Chinese history, but the history of each civilization on earth. If you look back, there's a lot that we can learn from it, and there's a lot of wisdom that we can learn from it. And we can also see the values and virtues that these ancient people lived by. I think that's something that we can learn directly from history and try to embody in our daily lives.

Mr. Beers:
What message would you give to contestants preparing for this competition to inspire them?

Mr. Li:
First of all, I'd like to thank all the participants and contestants for getting here, because you've been preparing and training for months to even stand on this stage. And second of all, I think, more than just competing in this competition, you're also bringing to the world and bringing to our audience 5,000 years of traditional Chinese heritage and culture. So what you're doing is something that's really, really important.

Mr. Beers:
And what about getting them sort of amped up, revved up to deliver the absolute best performance possible for this competition?

Mr. Li:
I think it's really a competition against yourself. You can always compete multiple times, then it doesn't matter how you place, but as long as you're improving year over year—and that's something that I've been seeing every time—you guys are definitely improving. So just keep it up and see if you improve every year. Compete with yourself.

Mr. Beers:
What impact do you hope the NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition has on classical Chinese dance as a whole?

Mr. Li:
I really hope that this competition can help raise more awareness and shed more light on what classical Chinese dance is. And I hope that it can reach more people because it's something that is really, really beautiful. Chinese culture is something that is so rich, so beautiful, and I think more people can learn about it.

Mr. Beers:
And what would they gain from learning about it?

Mr. Li:
There's a lot of wisdom I feel that you can learn from traditional Chinese culture. And it's something that can be very impactful, not only to your own life, but maybe even to your business. So I think it's something that's beneficial to society.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Chris Beers is an NTD News anchor and political correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Chris co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

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