Dances related to Chinese tea culture: Zhejiang Conservatory of Music's "A Scent of Longjing Tea": Li Jiawen, West Lake Longj

The dance "A Scent of Longjing Tea" depicts the image of young women brewing Longjing tea by West Lake in Hangzhou, and their art of tea preparation and drinking. West Lake Longjing is one of China's top ten famous teas, a type of green tea. It originates from the mountains surrounding Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, hence its name. Top-grade West Lake Longjing tea is flat, smooth, and straight, with a tender green and glossy color, a fresh and delicate aroma, a refreshing and mellow taste, and tender, bud-like leaves. Longjing tea harvested before Qingming Festival is called Mingqian Longjing, also known as "Daughter's Red," a name derived from the poem, "Outside the courtyard, the lotus smiles like Xizi, Mingqian Longjing, Daughter's Red." The steps for brewing Longjing tea in a teapot are: scalding the cup, placing the tea leaves, rinsing the tea, steeping, pouring out the tea, and serving. Like West Lake itself, West Lake Longjing tea is a perfect blend of people, nature, and culture, and an important carrier of the West Lake regional culture. This dance not only visually represents the appearance of Longjing tea but also showcases the inner qualities of women from the Jiangnan region.

This dance piece, created by Li Jiawen, a choreographer at the Dance Academy of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, showcases the unique charm of Jiangnan tea culture through delicate body language and movements. In the dance, the dancers lift the teapot, pour water, and brew the tea, observing the tender green tea leaves slowly unfurl in the cup, the rising steam reminiscent of the misty rain at dawn over West Lake. The entire brewing process flows smoothly yet steadily; the dancers use the tea lid, overlapping their hands, to make circles in front of their mouth, nose, and forehead, the delicate, almost disjointed movements of their bodies and the subtle, natural aroma of Longjing tea permeating the stage.

Furthermore, "A Scent of Longjing Tea" is not merely a reproduction of traditional tea culture, but also a reflection of the aspirations and spiritual pursuits of Jiangnan life. The work utilizes horizontal body movements to highlight the graceful "three bends" of the female form, with delicate facial expressions and nimble hand movements complementing each other, accompanied by a light and bright melody, showcasing the charm of Jiangnan dance and the flavor of tea ceremony.

Compared to the Cantonese Kung Fu tea performance "Please Tea," the flavor is completely different.