Classical Chinese Dance Explained by Gold Winner MarilynYang

The dance Marilyn Yang choreographed for this year’s competition shows the story of Wang Zhaojun, one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China. Wang prevented bloodshed in her country by being a “peace bride,” married off to a remote and barren land that’s close to today’s Mongolia. But instead of focusing on the teary departure scene, Yang turned to the beauty’s life on the barren land. “For me, I incorporated some Mongolian dance moves. I wanted to show that her heart was open. She accepts her fate, and she’s not bitter about it, and that it’s already become a part of her. Like this culture, this Mongolian culture is part of who she is now. But she sees a flower, and then … the memories come flooding back to her, and it shows that she still has that Han Dynasty maiden in her bones.”