Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Garment Dance

Introduction

A Tang court dance suite attributed to Emperor Xuanzong, given its present name in 754

The Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Garment Dance was a grand court song-and-dance of the Tang, whose music is attributed to Emperor Xuanzong and depicts a longing for the immortals and a journey to the moon palace. Accounts of its origin differ: one says the emperor was inspired at Sanxiang post station, while another says it was reworked from the Brahmin Melody presented by Yang Jingshu, a governor in the northwest. The Tang Huiyao records that in 754 the court music office renamed the Brahmin piece as Nishang Yuyi, and the Song writer Wang Zhuo summed it up as a western melody polished by the emperor. The work moved from a free instrumental prelude through a slow middle section of song and dance to a danced finale, stages vividly described in poems by Bai Juyi. Legend links the dance to Yang Guifei, but the original choreography was lost and modern performances are new reconstructions.

Parts

1. Sanxu (Free Prelude)The free-rhythm instrumental opening, played without song or dance
2. Zhongxu (Middle Section)The slow middle section, where a steady beat begins and the dancers sing as they move
3. Qupo (Breaking Finale)The climactic finale, danced without singing