 Slaves had been kept as dancers since the Xia dynasty..

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the imperial court established the "yuefu" (literally Music Bureau), which was responsible for collecting folk music and dance for performance at the court.A popular dance of the Han dynasty is the Long Sleeve Dance, which is depicted in many images and sculptures of the period, and this form of traditional dance survives to this day.The sleeve may be long and narrow, long and wide, or similar to the "water sleeves" used in Chinese opera.