胡旋舞
莫高窟第220窟南壁绘出一个巨大的露天舞场，两侧方形大地毯上坐着两组乐队，共16人，手持琵琶、古琴、箜篌、横笛、排箫、长鼓、铜钹等乐器。这些乐工头梳高髻，戴宝冠，上身半裸，斜披罗巾，项饰璎珞，佩戴手镯、臂钏等饰物。中央两块圆形小花毯上有一对舞伎，身穿长裙，手舞彩带，脚踩花毯，旋转相顾，翩翩起舞。这对舞伎表演的以快速旋转为特点的舞蹈，符合史籍对“胡旋舞”的记载，表现的应该就是由西域传来的胡旋舞。这组宏大的乐舞场景占据了整个壁面下部的三分之一，绘制精美，保存较佳，是我们了解和研究胡旋舞最具代表性的图像。
唐代是中原和西域乐舞艺术大交流、大融合的兴盛时期。唐代歌舞一方面继承和发展了民族舞乐的传统，另一方面也大量吸收了西北各族和中亚各国舞乐的特长，创造了新的民族舞乐。在宫廷和民间广泛流传从西域传来的胡腾舞、胡旋舞、柘枝舞等，节奏欢快，一经传入，就深受人们喜爱，得到广泛传播，风行一时。
Sogdian Whirl Dance
The southern wall of Cave 220 in the Mogao Caves depicts a vast outdoor dance floor with two groups of musicians seated on large square carpets on either side, totaling 16 people. They hold various instruments such as the pipa, guqin, konghou, transverse flute, panpipe, long drum, and cymbals. These musicians sport high topknots and wear jeweled crowns, with their upper bodies partially bare, draped in thin silk shawls, and adorned with necklaces, bracelets and armlets. In the center, two small circular flower carpets feature a pair of dancers dressed in long skirts, waving colorful ribbons as they dance gracefully, their feet on the carpets, spinning and gazing at each other. The dance performed by this pair, characterized by rapid spins, aligns with historical records of the Sogdian Whirl Dance, which is believed to have originated from the Western Regions. This grand musical and dance scene occupies a third of the lower part of the entire wall, beautifully rendered and well preserved, making it one of the most representative images for understanding and studying the Sogdian Whirl Dance.
The Tang Dynasty was a flourishing period of extensive exchanges and integration of musical and dance arts between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. Tang-dynasty dance and music inherited and developed the traditions of many different ethnic dance and music forms, absorbing the flavors of various ethnic groups in the northwest and countries in Central Asia, creating new forms of national dance and music. The dances of Hu Teng, Sogdian Whirl Dance, and Zhe Zhi, which originated in the Western Regions, became widely popular both in the royal court and among the common people. With their lively rhythms, these dances quickly gained favor and spread widely, becoming fashionable at the time.
