Traditional values prove to be a winning combination

One of the hit dance pieces by Henan TV is titled The Paper Fan Scholars, choreographed by Hu Yan, a professor of Beijing Dance Academy. Premiered in 2018, the dance piece is performed by 12 male dancers of the Beijing Dance Academy.

The version broadcast by Henan TV saw the dancers perform outdoor. Within a week-long shoot, dancers performed at different locations in Henan province, including Songyue Temple Pagoda, located at the south foot of Songshan Mountain, Shaolin Temple, and Zhongyue Temple.

"With the combination of traditional Chinese dance and those ancient temples, audiences get a fresh visual experience and have a direct involvement with Chinese history and culture," says Qian Linlin, director of the dance piece. "I've read many messages left by the viewers, saying that they want to come to Henan and visit those temples by themselves."

According to Hu Yan, choreographer of the dance piece, paper fans are used by all of the male dancers throughout the dance piece, which is a symbolic element for traditional Chinese dance. The dancers, who play the role of ancient scholars, read poems, drink wine and dance with fans, expressing amusement and joy.

The change of stage set from indoor theater to outdoor is challenging for dancers, he says. For example, when dancers performed among the trees of Shaolin Temple, the ground was wet, which led to a reflection of the dancers.

"The special design was created to appeal to a beautiful visual effect on the screen, which needed the dancers to control their balance while dancing," says Hu. "We are still learning about how to present dance moves through short videos, which is a new thing for us."