A Fan of Dancing

The art of Chinese Fan Dancing

Chinese fan dancing derived from the Han Dynasty around 206 B.C. and can be associated in two forms, civilian and military. Most notable is the civilian form which can be described as calming, delicate, and fluid. The dance is basically self-explanatory. The dancers perform their movements with large silk fans (in one or both hands) and create circular movements. The pieces are performed with a minimum of six dancers, but most typically have ten or more. The fans and clothes are brightly colored, but the overall focus is for the fans. The dancers/performers can manipulate the fans to easily catch attention, but also use those same abilities to make what we are seeing as an audience effortless.