#ancient dance

The blogger tried to restore the dance by referring to the movements in many related reliefs and murals from the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, combined with the Tang Dynasty records of the dance.

< Zhezhi Dance/柘枝舞>

is a type of well-known "Jian dance/健舞"from the Tang and Song dynasties. The ancient "Yudiao" (羽调) has a piece titled "Zhezhi Qu" (柘枝曲), and the Shang Diao (商调) has "Qu Zhezhi" (屈柘枝), from which the dance takes its name. It originated from Talas (a region in modern-day Kazakhstan, once under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Protectorate). Initially, it was a solo dance performed by women. The most popular form during the Tang Dynasty was the "Double Zhezhi Dance/《双柘枝舞》," performed by two young girls wearing red and purple silk robes, with Hu-style(胡人/Foreigner style) hats adorned with golden bells. They would dance in time with the beat of the Hu drums, their slender waists swaying in harmony with the ringing of the bells and the dance movements, creating a pleasant sound as they turned.

Zhang Xiaobiao/章孝标's poem 《Zhezhi /柘枝》includes the line "Zhezhi first appears, the drumbeat calls," and Bai Juyi/白居易's poem 《Zhezhi Ji/柘枝妓》 has the line "Three drumbeats strike, urging the painting drum." The dance features rich variations in movement, being both vigorous and lively, as well as graceful and charming. The sleeves of the dancer's costume alternately droop and lift, as described in the poem with phrases like "lifting sleeves amidst the busy drum" and "long sleeves sweeping into the embroidered train." The rapid and intricate footwork causes the golden bells worn by the dancer to produce a clear, crisp sound. Spectators are amazed by the dance's lightness and flexibility. As the dance nears its end, there is a deep bending motion of the waist.

-------- Annotation >Yudiao(羽调) & Shang Diao (商调)<

The Chinese pentatonic scale, or pentatonic mode, is a scale system commonly used in Chinese music. Ancient China named these five notes Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu（宫、商、角jué、徵zhǐ、羽） in sequence, which is roughly equivalent to the singing notes in Western music notation. Noun (do), (re), (mi), (sol), (la).

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In the Song Dynasty, it evolved into a group dance, and the official music included "Zhezhi Troupe" (柘枝队). There were many variations of the dance in the past, though most of the original songs were lost by the Song period. Despite this, the dance still flourished. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the dance itself disappeared, and the name "Zhezhi Ling" (柘枝令) only survives in the lyrics and music.

Along with the Hu Xuan Dance (胡旋舞) and Hu Teng Dance (胡腾舞), Zhezhi Dance was one of the three major Western Region dance styles that were immensely popular during the Tang Dynasty, often performed to welcome foreign envoys gathering in Chang'an China.

【Historical Artifact Reference】:

China Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period Brick Carving Relics from Tomb Of Feng Hui 冯晖墓

< "Jian dance/健舞 & Ruan Wu/软舞>

Jianwu (健舞) is one of the categories of court music and dance in the Tang Dynasty, specifically referring to a type of martial dance. It signifies a dance style characterized by vigorous, forceful movements and a lively rhythm, in contrast to the "soft dance" (软舞).

The Tang people categorized the various small-scale entertainment dances and musical performances popular in the palace, noble households, and among the general populace based on their stylistic characteristics into "soft dance" and "martial dance" (jianwu). Originally folk dances and Hu music, these were later reorganized and adapted by the court's music and dance troupes, often performed at feasts. The music for these dances typically used elaborate wind instruments and fast string instruments. According to the "Fangfang Ji" (放坊记) and "Yuefu Zalu" (乐府杂录), soft dances included pieces like "A Liao" (阿辽), "Jianqi" (剑器), "Zhezhi" (柘枝), "Hu Xuan" (胡旋), "Hu Teng" (胡腾), "Huang Zhuang" (黄獐), "Da Weizhou" (大渭州), "Fu Lin" (拂菻), "Damo Zhi" (达摩支), and "Ling Da" (棱大).

Ruan Wu（soft dance）/软舞

Ruanwu (软舞) specifically referring to a type of graceful and elegant dance. It signifies a dance style characterized by graceful, delicate, and flowing movements, in contrast to "martial dance" (健舞).

The Tang people categorized the various small-scale entertainment dances and musical performances popular in the palace, noble households, and among the general populace based on their stylistic characteristics into "soft dance" and "martial dance" (jianwu). These dances, originally folk dances, were adapted by the court's music and dance troupes and were often performed at feasts. The movements of soft dance were light, graceful, and elegant, resembling either a startled swan or a flying swallow. According to the "Yuefu Zalu" (乐府杂录), the main soft dances included "Liangzhou" (凉州), "Lüyao" (绿腰), "Suhexiang" (苏合香), "Qu Zhezhi" (屈柘), "Tuan Yuan Xuan" (团圆璇), "Ganzhou" (甘州), "Chui Shou Luo" (垂手罗), "Hui Bo Yue" (回波乐), "Lanling Wang" (兰陵王), "Chun Ying Zhuan" (春莺啭), "Ban She Qu" (半社渠), "Jie Xi" (借席), and "Wu Ye Ti" (乌夜啼).

Next time I will make a post to share to the Tang Dynasty "soft dance/软舞" restored by Choreographer：@李诗荟

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"Taiping Yue": Ji《太平乐》· 急 (Great Peace Music: Quick), an instrumental movement in the Dashi mode (Chinese: Dashi diao, 大食调, equivalent to the Mixolydian mode on E), dating back to China's Tang Dynasty, as reconstructed by Bilibili user "männlichkeit," c. January 24, 2020. As the final movement of the suite "Taiping Yue," this piece is known by the title "Hehuan Yan" (合欢盐, Happy Together Song). According to musicologist Steven G. Nelson, this suite probably had its origins as a military dance, perhaps of the pozhen yue (破阵乐, literally "destroying the formations") type, in Tang China, which was transmitted to the Japanese court by the early 8th century, then arranged into a suite in the Japanese court of the mid-9th century.

In the context of the piece's title, the term "yan" (塩), which usually means "salt" in Chinese, refers to a particular type of poetic song popular during the Tang period (a synonym for "qu" 曲, meaning "piece"); "yïr" or "yır" means "song" in Turkic languages.

This reconstruction is based primarily on the version of this piece as found in "Sango Yōroku"『三五要録』, the most important and extensive collection of Tang-era scores for 4-string pipa; this collection was compiled by the Japanese nobleman Fujiwara no Moronaga (藤原師長, 1138-1192) shortly after 1177 (c. 1180), during the late Heian period (794-1185).

In Japan's tradition of Tōgaku (唐楽, court music of Chinese origin), this dance suite movement is called "Taiheiraku": Kyū《太平楽》· 急 (たいへいらく：きゅう), with the movement title being pronounced "Gakka-en"《合歡塩》(がっかえん). Its mode is called Taishiki-chō (大食調) in Japanese.

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🧚🏻‍♀️Dancer & Choreographer：@李诗荟

👗Hanfu：@君子山岚

Venue Provider：@包意凡

Lighting Design：@大彤寶殿的彤寶

Music ：@männlichkeit（BiliBili）/@dbadagna（Youtube）

🔗Full Video on Xiaohongshu App：https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/674995190000000008005fc6?

Pyrrhic Dance (Pyrrhichios) is one of the most famous dances from ancient Greece and is still performed by the Greeks especially of Crete and Pontos to this day

This dance has a long history of legend and tradition so it is interesting that both it and Achilles go in the same phrase but here we go;

The Phyrric Dance is a form of dance that involves the dancer(s) wearing their armor and holding their shield while moving in a swift and violent way which Plato seems to imitate the movements of a warrior trying to avoid the darts being shot at them or the movements of the soldiers It is said that the soldiers would strike their swords or daggers against the shield. The dance was also said to be some sort of meditation and preparation for battle for the warriors. The dance was probably supposed to be performed with a flute like the dance of Paean involves flute and percussion.

Athenaeus in his work "Deipnosophists" seems to originate this dance to some Dionysian dance and estimates the origins of it would be for people to hold thyrsus instead of spears among others (for example he also traces it to the legendary Cretan Pyrrichius in Lacedaemona) and connects this to Satyrs (which shows to me how lively and powerful it was supposed to be). Other origins of it seem to be the Curetes or even Athena herself But there are some scholia that are associated with fragments about Aristotle that speak about a legendary origin of the Pyrrhic dance at least as far as mortals are concerned and that is the legend that Achilles danced around the pyre of Patroclus while preparing the funeral:

Aristotle names Achilles as the first to perform the phyrric dance around the pyre of Patroclus which is called prylin by the Cretans and so by the pyre the name pyrric was born

(Translation by me)

And I just cannot stop thinking about it! Anyone who is familiar with old Greek cinema knows the iconic scene of the hero who in his utmost pain or amidst drinking they break to a dance as if they are in a trance (usually the infamous dance of pain, zeibekiko) and so imagine Achilles in a similar way!

He wants to honor his fallen companion; his rage still barely called "subsided" but also added the anxiety of forever separating from the body of his beloved companion, the one he was embracing all this time! He is desperate, he knows he will see him off forever; everything that Patroclus has ever been is going to be gone forever and his bones will be placed in the urn.

He gets lost in the conflicted emotions inside his heart; grief, fury, anger, question, doubt, self-blaming etc and daresay even some hidden pride given that Patroclus went as a fighter; a warrior. He is to achieve perfect glory for his name in his death!

Achilles wants to see him gone as a warrior but also as a companion. The feelings inside him manifest to this violent almost completely ritualistic dance

Everyone is not intervening! The dance floor is his and his only. This is his contribution to his companion and none of them is allowed to join! The only thing they can offer is music! But the rest belongs to Achilles; the dance, the clanging of weapons, the cries and war voices...

Achilles was seeing Patroclus off as a warrior...preparing him for it and he was also preparing himself for doing the same; battling and also joining him in death...falling in that sacred trance for him!

DUDE I WANT TO SEE THIS THEMATIC MORE!!!!

The Pyrrhic dance is still performed in Greece today with the two known and famous variations being from Crete or more famously of Pontos (also known as Serra). Variations of the dance of course entered other countries as well such as Albania. The name is also associated with Achilles's son Pyrrhus and the kingdom of Epirus. For those of you who remember, you have witnessed a Pyrrhic dance during the ceremony of 2004 Olympic Games in Athens:

But this is another video to realize the moves of it as they go:

Yeah...dunno the melody does something to me guys as I remember the long history behind it...

On another note to friends like @smokey07 there is the legend in which Neoptolemous performed this dance out of his pure joy under the walls of Troy when he killed Eurypylus

Well, aren’t we fancy.

They include India, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque and New Spain.

"Ancient Dance", painting by Eugène Delacroix

The Horns of the Dancers ~ Abbots Bromley ~ from the archives…

Given a lousy headache and dodgy vision from the over-inflated flesh, I was glad to come across this old post. With the fallout from COVID keeping churches closed to visitors, and preventing many of our most ancient and mysterious traditions from taking place over the past year, it felt good to revisit, if only virtually, a thousand-year-old place of worship that houses the relics of a tradition…