Hello love,

I want to take a moment to acknowledge something important. The beautiful art of silk fan dance has deep roots in Chinese culture, and I have immense respect for this rich tradition. Read on to learn the history and evolution of this beautiful art form as well as my intentions and approach to silk fan dance.

The Traditional Foundation


Fan dance has ancient roots, tracing back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) in China. This beautiful art form developed as both court entertainment and folk tradition, where dancers in flowing robes used fans to symbolize grace, seasonal changes, and imperial elegance.


In Chinese villages and Korean communities, fans became part of local festivals and storytelling, with the folding and unfolding movements mimicking flowers, birds, or waves. The fans themselves represented beauty, modesty, and elemental forces like wind and water. A kind of embodied poetry that has been passed down through generations.


Traditional Chinese fan dance uses solid fans (without silk extensions) that open and close to create graceful shapes and tell stories through movement. The movements, techniques, and cultural context are specific and meaningful, performed with intention and respect for the history they carry.

A Global Journey: How Fan Dance Traveled


What I find fascinating is how fan dance has traveled across empires and oceans, taking on new meanings in different cultures:


In Japan, traditional buyō and kabuki dances feature elegant folding fans (sensu), emphasizing minimalist, intentional movement. Fans are used to express emotions, create visual effects, and represent objects or settings within the narrative of the dance.

In Korea, the iconic Buchaechum (Korean fan dance) involves large fans painted with peonies, performed by women in hanbok to depict natural beauty and harmony.

In Spain, the abanico (fan) is used in flamenco to accentuate rhythm and attitude, with sharp, percussive movements that contrast beautifully with the softness of other traditions.

In America, fan dancing took on a different flavor in early 20th-century burlesque, popularized by artists like Sally Rand in the 1930s. Her feather fan dances challenged taboos around feminine expression, using conceal-and-reveal techniques that were both artistic and provocative.

The Evolution of Silk Fans


Over time, fan dance evolved and branched into different forms. In China, this included both martial arts applications and classical dance forms. As the art developed, extended silk fabric began to be incorporated. First as small flutter accents along the edges of fans, then evolving into the longer silk attachments we see today.


Classical Chinese silk fan dance emerged as its own beautiful tradition, featuring graceful movements with flowing silk that creates mesmerizing patterns through the air. This style has its own specific techniques and cultural significance within Chinese dance tradition.


Interestingly, while Middle Eastern belly dance doesn't traditionally use fans, modern fusion styles began incorporating fan veils through a complex cultural journey. This happened through Western interpretations of "Eastern dance" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often influenced by Western romanticized interpretations of Eastern dance and vaudeville performers. In the 1980s-2000s, bellydance fusion artists in the U.S. began blending fan veils with bellydance movements, emphasizing fluidity, contrast, and dramatic flair.

My Journey & Approach


When I discovered silk fans in the festival scene back in early 2018, it was instant love. But my path led me to something different—what I call Silk Fan Fusion.


My style draws from my background in:

→ Classical ballet and contemporary (25+ yrs of training)

→ Belly dance, heels dance, and other movement forms

→ Flow arts and fire spinning techniques

→ Modern fusion approaches to movement


This creates a style distinct from traditional Chinese fan dance in both technique and cultural context.

What I Teach vs. Traditional Fan Dance


I want to be completely transparent: I am not teaching traditional Chinese fan dance, Korean Buchaechum, Japanese buyō, flamenco fan work, or any specific cultural tradition. My work focuses on:


  • Silk fan fusion as a modern flow art
  • Blending various dance backgrounds into personal style
  • Flow arts techniques and transitions
  • Technical skill development with silk-attached props
  • Creative expression through movement
  • Using movement as medicine and self-discovery


Today's fusion fan dancing (what I call Silk Fan Fusion) evolves from this rich multicultural history. My approach combines the inherent grace and fluidity that make fan work so captivating, techniques and full-body expression infused from ballet and contemporary dance, artistic flair and movement qualities from bellydance fusion, heels, jazz, and hip hop styles, and flow arts pathways and skills into something new.


This contemporary style is deeply embodied and often ritualistic. Used for personal expression, healing, and performance art. It's what happens when we honor the ancestral while inventing the new.


If you're looking to learn any of the traditional cultural forms I mentioned—Chinese fan dance, Korean Buchaechum, Japanese fan work, or flamenco—I encourage you to seek out teachers who specialize in those beautiful, specific lineages.

My Intention


I approach this work with respect and gratitude for the origins of fan dance. My intention is to honor these roots while creating space for artistic evolution and personal expression through movement.


The raw and the real means being honest about my background, my influences, and what I'm actually teaching. It means respecting traditions while also allowing for creative fusion and innovation.

Moving Forward Together


I believe there's room in this world for both traditional art forms and modern fusion styles. The fan has traveled such an incredible journey. From Han dynasty temples to burlesque stages, from Korean palaces to bellydance fusion festivals. In its current form, it's become a multicultural collage, a poetic practice that honors the ancestral while inventing the new.


My hope is that by being clear about what I teach (and what I don't) we can honor the past while embracing creative evolution. Each tradition brings its own beauty and meaning to working with fans, and I'm grateful to be part of this continuing story.


Thank you for taking the time to understand this distinction. It matters to me that we approach movement with both passion and respect.


If you have questions or want to share thoughts about this, please feel free to message me at [email protected]. I'm always open to learning and growing.


With love and respect,

Rae