Intermediate Level

The Intermediate level of dance instruction is a critical step in helping students become dance artists of a professional caliber.

Dance instruction at the Intermediate level will further strengthen the basic skills and techniques learned at the Beginner level. Students will also enhance their physical flexibility and their ability to express the forms.

In addition, this level will provide comprehensive training in the elements of body movement forms and connotations in Chinese dance. Students will learn the methods and techniques of Chinese dance performance that are characterized by the external expression of the dancer’s inner sensibility. Training in basic skills and techniques will be combined with body rhythms and overtones to help students deepen their understanding and appreciation of Chinese dance.

The Intermediate level will also expose students to more advanced skills and techniques and cultivate their ability to precisely express the required dance forms.

Fundamentals of Classical Chinese Dance III, IV

These courses focus on movement elongation and the development of coordination and physical control to perform combinations of increasing difficulty. Students will be introduced to more challenging movement sequences that interlace various special techniques with fundamental movements.

Shen Yun (身韻) III, IV

This level of shen yun (i.e. body articulation) courses seeks to reinforce the student’s mastery of the primary rhythmic elements and introduce representative dance movements such as yun jian zhuan yao (雲肩轉腰), yan zi chuan lin (燕子穿林), and qing long tan zhua (青龍探爪). Students will perform movement sequences that integrate the primary elements and representative movements, with further emphasis on musical expression, disposition, and character.

Special Techniques in Chinese Dance III, IV

These courses provide training in difficult leaps and jumps, spins, tumbling, and aerial movements. Upon completion, students should understand conceptually how specific technical movements are performed and be able to demonstrate mastery of movements with increased quality and quantity.

Chinese Folk and Ethnic Dances III, IV

These courses build on the prior basic training in the folk and ethnic dances of greater China, involving increasingly complex dance movements and combinations. A wider variety of traditions is included: Chinese northeastern yang ge (秧歌) dance, Uyghur dance, and southern folk dance styles. Students deepen their understanding of the cultural nuances attributed to each region and are expected to explore and exude such nuances in their movements. Upon completion, students should be able to differentiate movements of various folk styles and demonstrate a deeper appreciation for how culture and environment influence artistic styles.