The 11th NTD’s “Worldwide Chinese Classical Dance Competition” will be held in New York from September 11th to 14th, 2025. Top dancers from around the world will gather to showcase and interpret the rich history and profound cultural heritage of China spanning five thousand years.
One of the judges for this competition, William Li, a dance teacher and lead dancer at Shen Yun Performing Arts, shared in an interview the unique artistic vocabulary and depth of Chinese classical dance. He highlighted that the evaluation criteria for this competition will focus on the precision of movements, expression of emotions, and presentation of traditional values.
Li emphasized, “The meaning of the competition lies in cultural inheritance.”
“Chinese classical dance is one of the most complete dance systems in the world,” Li said. “It has high technical requirements and difficulty, but what truly sets it apart is its emphasis on ‘bearing’ – the inner spirit, character, and integrity of the dancers.”
In Chinese classical dance, there are three core elements – bearing, form, and technique.
Technique refers to a series of high-difficulty technical movements including jumps, spins, and flips; form refers to the external techniques of the body, including the hundreds of exquisite movements and postures in Chinese classical dance; bearing refers to the ethnic charm inherent in Chinese people, combined with the unique content formed by the cultural heritage of China spanning five thousand years.
Li explained, “‘Form’ is like the structure of Chinese classical dance, covering the movements, dance postures, movement connections, movement routes, and body movements, and it requires a high level of skill.”
He said that the “bearing” in Chinese classical dance is like a form of communication with the audience, where every movement on the stage is an expression of the dancer’s inner spirit.
“‘Bearing’ is basically the inner spirit that you present through your movements,” Li said. “For example, a leap is just a technical movement in itself, but with bearing, it becomes a way to communicate with the audience.”
Li pointed out that this is what distinguishes Chinese classical dance from Western dance forms. While Western ballet emphasizes lines and elegance, Chinese classical dance emphasizes bearing and the depth of culture.
“Chinese classical dance emphasizes bearing and the depth of culture behind it,” Li said. “With five thousand years of history, Chinese classical dance has absorbed the essence of different Chinese dynasties. These are reflected in the dance postures, often emphasizing historical themes and values of Chinese traditional culture on stage, such as loyalty, filial piety, compassion, and more.”
Further discussing the technical aspects, Li mentioned a technique called “carrying the body with the hands, pelvis carrying the legs” taught by Shen Yun Artistic Director, D.F., as the essence of Chinese classical dance form technique.
“This technique is about how dancers let the body lead the movements of the hands and legs, making the postures and movements more expressive,” he explained. “Especially when the audience is far from the stage, dancers can convey messages using their entire bodies.”
Li mentioned that this dance style is more energy-efficient, making movements more fluid and effortless compared to using brute force to dance with the arms and legs.
Speaking about the specific judging criteria, Li emphasized that the judges will focus on the accuracy of the dancers’ movements and postures, as well as the difficulty of the techniques.
“The basics are ‘form,’ where movements and postures must be precise, just like how you need to speak clearly during a speech.”
“Next, it is about whether you possess bearing, can move the hearts of the audience, and convey the spiritual essence you want to express on stage?”
The aim of the NTD’s “Worldwide Chinese Classical Dance Competition” is to promote cultural exchange, uphold the pure, virtuous, and beautiful orthodox dance art, and bring this excellent traditional Chinese culture to the world.
Li fully agrees with this purpose. He said, “When you watch dancers perform on stage, you can truly feel these things. Purity essentially refers to the sincerity in your performance; virtue is like the virtues you display on stage, which naturally emanate from the dance. As for beauty, I believe it is a combination of all these elements. Your movements must be beautiful, but more importantly, the expression of emotions – whether it’s compassion, courage, or loyalty – should come through the movements. In Chinese, it’s called ‘unity of spirit and body’, when the inner spirit and external movements are in harmony, as a dancer, this kind of performance is what moves people the most.”
However, in contemporary China, traditional culture has been almost completely destroyed, and the artistic essence of Chinese classical dance has gradually faded.
“Especially during the Cultural Revolution, the communist regime systematically destroyed Chinese traditional culture, not only literature and art but even temples were destroyed. This was not accidental but planned destruction,” Li said.
“In today’s China, art often becomes a tool for political propaganda, whether in dance, film, or other media, often carrying ideological directions and intentions,” he added.
The NTD’s Chinese Classical Dance Competition explicitly prohibits content related to communism or works imitating animal images. The organizers point out that Chinese classical dance is an elegant art form, and communist ideology is contrary to the spiritual values advocated by Chinese classical dance. Additionally, the competition also stipulates that stage works should not depict beings of low spiritual levels to maintain the purity and dignity of art.
“In Western society, Shen Yun Performing Arts hopes to showcase a true China to the world – a China with faith. Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian thoughts are the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture, but today’s China no longer embodies these aspects,” Li expressed.
The NTD’s Chinese Classical Dance Competition is dedicated to passing on traditional Chinese culture, and Li is particularly delighted to see many young people participating in the competition.
“I sincerely admire these dancers. It’s reassuring to see so many young people willing to take on the inheritance of traditional culture, and they are very talented dancers. Seeing them compete on stage makes me very happy,” Li noted.
He stressed, “The significance of this competition lies in cultural inheritance, passing on this spirit to future generations.”
Having competed five times himself, Li shared, “I have personally competed five times… preparing these works and bravely taking the stage to compete and present yourself to the world is no easy task.”
Therefore, he advised the participants, “You have done all the preparation, now, just dance sincerely, enjoy the stage, and you will move everyone.”