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CHINA

SITE: CHINESE LION DANCE

URL: http://www.columbia.edu/~nc79/liondance.html

To learn about the symbols of the Chinese Lion Dance and about its development, this page from Columbia University will give a great deal of information and images. The Lion Dance of China is also contrasted with those of Taiwan and Korea.

SITE: TRADITIONAL CHINESE CULTURE IN TAIWAN: CHINESE DANCE

URL: http://www.houstoncul.org/culdir/danc/danc.htm On the page “Traditional Chinese Culture in Taiwan: Chinese Dance,” one finds a history of the development of the art of the dance in China, as well as an outline of the dance groups in contemporary Taiwan that have participated in the renaissance of Chinese dance.

INDIA

SITE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLASSICAL DANCE FROM SOUTH INDIA

URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/histjrnl/bhhist.htm Excerpted from the Ph.D. dissertation of Jon B. Higgins is “A Brief History of Classical Dance from South India.”  Beginning with the sixth to fourteenth centuries and the dynasties of the Pallavas and Chollas, the article’s focus is the development  of dance in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

SITE: DANCE FORMS OF KERALA

URL: http://enuxsa.eas.asu.edu/~aknair/kerala/dance.index.html On the Web page “Dance Forms of Kerala,” there are photographs (see above photo) and descriptions of the distinctive features of Kathakali, Krishnanaattam, Koodiyaattam, and Mohiniyattam. The origins, famous dancers, costumes, and the music for some of these forms are described in detail.

SITE: DANCES OF INDIA

URL: http://www.unt.edu/~sga0001/dance.html For an overview and links to many pages dealing with both traditional and folk dance forms of India, go to the “Dances of India” page. There are links to pages about Bharatanatyam which originated in the state of Tamilnadu, to Kuchipudi from the state
of Andhra Pradesh and performed only by men in ancient days, to the dances of Kerala (referred to above) to Manipuri and other traditional dances of India. The folk and tribal dances include Bhangra, the dances of Orissa, Lavni, and Mando.

INDONESIA

SITE: INDONESIAN DANCE

URL: http://www.kaiwan.com/~gamelan/indodance.html

The page devoted to Indonesian Dance notes that there are a large number of dance forms in Indonesia and that the most diverse are those of Java and Bali. This Web site describes the Javanese and Balinese dance pieces that “outsiders” are most likely to see. These descriptions of the most popular dances from both regions include the origins, the symbolism, and the costuming; they are accompanied by some photographs.

SITE: JAVANESE ROYAL DANCES

URL: http://www.euronet.nl/users/menr/ejavad.html The page of a dance group in the Netherlands, which specializes in Indonesian dance, offers some information on Javanese royal dances. Eight dance forms are explained, including Tari Golek, Engar-engar, and Menakoncar.

JAPAN

SITE: DANCE AND SHAMISEN

URL: http://benten.fix.co.jp/people/matt/homepage/matt/dance.html

On the “Dance and Shamisen” page there are descriptions of several classical dances for male performers, such as Ame no Goro, Shichi Fukujin, andSukeroku. The descriptions are accompanied by photographs.

THAILAND

SITE: THAI CLASSICAL DANCE

URL: http://www.mahidol.ac.th/thailand/dance.html

The Web site “Thai Classical Dance”  provides a history of dance and a lengthy description of the costumes and masks used by dancers, including those of the Khon performers. The ritual and art of making a Khon mask is carefully detailed. The contents of this page are derived from information in Kinaree magazine.

These short synopses of some Asian dance sites on the World Wide Web are meant to stimulate you to explore farther and deeper into this subject, both on the Web and beyond. Some of you may wish to contribute information to these Web pages about dance, or perhaps create pages of your own. The opportunitiesfor learning and for teaching are unlimited.