The An Dance is a folk dance that was derived from the ancestors of Yue to express their worship of the An in social production and life. It originated from the ancestors' reverence for the An myth and is a product of the Hemudu rice culture. According to the "Genealogy of the Second Branch of the Xie Family of Si (Si) Gate" (first compiled during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty (1506-1522), the An Dance was a custom during the Qin Dynasty, indicating that the Yuyao An Dance has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is a unique folk dance that integrates the ancient philosophical thoughts of the ancestors, the principle of the mutual generation and mutual restraint of the five elements, and the folk customs of praying to and entertaining gods. The Yuyao An Dance has the significant characteristics of being ancient, unique in image, far-reaching, and unique in dance method. The development of the An Dance has three stages: the first is the static totem stage, which belongs to this category before the Qin Dynasty; the second is the initial movement stage developed in the Qin Dynasty; the third is the stage with formations and methods, which can be danced and amused, which was formed in the Ming Dynasty. The An originated from the ancient An, which resembles a dragon. It has seven sections in total, including the head, body and tail. The head is like a dog or a fox, and has no scales. The An dance is composed of props such as the An, An beads, An command flag, An character flag, and five-color long pole flags. The An body is about 15 meters long and consists of 7 sections, including the head, body and tail. The An dance team dances to the accompaniment of gongs and drums and recruiting soldiers. Its formations include pulling the field, eating beads, turning, three jumps, entering the pile, stringing the formation, shaking the tail, and ending the scene. Among them, the "three jumps" are a unique feature of the An dance. The An dance has rough movements and spectacular scenes. From the perspective of dance vocabulary, the An dance is based on the idea of praying to the gods, asking for the gods, and entertaining the gods. It is a kind of mimicry and interpretation of "handsome gods", with the perfect unity of "shape resemblance" and "spirit resemblance" in traditional Chinese aesthetics. In the early 1980s, when a cultural delegation from Zhejiang Province visited Japan, they saw a performance of the An dance arranged by the host. The host said that this An dance originated in China and was brought from a place called Zhangcun in Zhejiang, China. After multiple investigations (see the article "The Past and Present of the Southern Dragon Dance and An Dance" on the Youth Times website on January 10, 2006), it was determined that Zhangcun was Zhangjia in Dongpu Village, Simen Town, Yuyao City today. In 1984, when conducting a folk dance census, the census staff of Yuyao Cultural Center discovered the An dance; in 1991, based on the memories of the old artists, the An dance was remade and restored. Because of its ancient origin, strong regionality and unique dance method, the An dance attracted great attention from experts and the media after it was released. Zhejiang TV, CCTV, Zhejiang Daily, Zhejiang China News Network, China Youth Times, etc. have reported on it. Relevant experts in the province also made a special trip to Zhangjia Village where the An dance is located to visit Zhang Shenyu, an old An dance artist. Its antiquity is of great significance for studying the cultural living environment and survival history of the time. Information source: Ningbo Cultural Center (Ningbo Exhibition Hall Ningbo Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) Information source: Ningbo Cultural Center (Ningbo Exhibition Hall Ningbo Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)