OP: Handan Xuebu Dance(Learning to walk in Handan)邯郸学步舞 is trending online. See the difference between good amateur dancers, skilled professional dancers, and the choreographer herself. Except for that Hanfu beat-sync change in the middle—that part is just to show Warring States-style hanfu, also known as zhanguopao战国袍(lit. robe of zhanguo, the warring states period, 475–221 BCE), it falls under the category of ZhiJu直裾 in Hanfu classification, and could be worn by both men and women. This style continued into the subsequent Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). The choreographer was inspired by the dancing figurines unearthed from these historical periods and the story of “Learning to Walk in Handan” when creating this dance.
Women and girls are performing yinggewu/yingge dance
Yinggewu英歌舞 is a traditional Chinese street deity procession dance popular in regions like eastern Guangdong’s Chaoshan area. It is a branch of Chinese Nuo dance culture, often themed around revered heroes from folklore. The dance is commonly performed during festivals and ritual occasions such as the Spring Festival and temple fairs. People perform Yingge Dance to ward off evil, pray for blessings, and safeguard peace, while also strengthening community bonds, fostering collective spirit, and preserving the cultural memory rooted in local traditions. There were no female performers in the past, but now there are, just as in the past, female lion dance performers were rarely seen, but they are now gradually emerging.
The Beijing “Tortoise and Hare Race” dance performance won a creative award for its choreography. The dancers are from the Chinese Mengqi Art Troupe, and the choreographer is Cao Lei.
