On The Evolution And Influence Of Chu Dance

Chu Culture, which is one of the important branches of Chinese culture, and has a long history and a long standing, has bred the art of Chu dance with uniquely local and national features on this land full of primitive religions, legends and witchcrafts. Having absorbed not only the cultural essence in the Central plains, but also the marrow of the southern culture, this dance develops a kind of diverse form on the basis of the local spirit in Chu. The dance form, performed by dancer’s slender waist with long sleeves, has influenced the ancient dances for the following golden periods of the Han and Tang dynasties, and therefore become the basic pattern of Chinese dance. The spirit and cultural connotation in Chu dance are regarded as the important factors in evaluating the dance. Its style of exaggeration, mystery, ardency and freedom is also the main source of modern dance.This paper consists of three chapters. Chapter I, from the perspective of Chu culture, deals with the contents and forms of the Chu dance, expounds what it is, and moreover analyses its characters. Chapter II mainly analyses its evolution from the subjective and objective environments and Chapter III analyses the influence Chu dance has produced upon the modern and contemporary dance creation from the perspective of its position and influence.