Cool Classes: Art of Chinese Water Sleeve

With precision and grace, a group of young women leap, twirl and glide in unison across the studio floor. They swoop through a flowing dance designed to mimic the movement of water, yards of white silk streaming from the sleeves of their jackets.

These dancers are exploring the culture of China in a kinesthetic way through Art of Water Sleeve, taught by Professor Er-Dong Hu, theatre & dance. In the class, students from across the disciplines learn to perform the classical and folk dance forms of China, including those incorporating specialized props such as water sleeves, fans and ribbons.

"This is really a special feeling — taking Chinese traditional dance in a foreign country," said Yili Wang '21, an applied mathematical sciences major from China. "It's kind of like a combination of ballet and Chinese culture — the Eastern culture and the Western culture."

Watch Wang and her classmates learn to create the mesmerizing flow of water sleeves in this video.

See what else Bucknell offers in the Department of Theatre & Dance.

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