Impact of the Audience’s Aesthetic Perceptions on the Traditional Dance-Drama: Eternal Love Across the Magpie Bridge

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the differences in aesthetic perceptions of the classic Taiwanese ethnic dance drama “Eternal Love Across the Magpie Bridge.” This study applies Aristotle’s “Six Elements of Drama” as evaluation criteria, and uses questionnaire surveys to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the differences in the perceptions of the messages conveyed by dance among respondents with different backgrounds. Statistical analysis is also used to further examine these differences based on academic background and gender. The results indicate that in the evaluation elements of "Traditional Dance-drama－Eternal Love across the Magpie Bridge," the dancers’ skills, melody of the music, and profound themes are all related to the audience’s preferences for the work. Furthermore, respondents’ perceptions of the work did not differ based on different backgrounds or age groups. This demonstrates that as a paradigmatic classic dance drama, “Eternal Love Across the Magpie Bridge” does not vary according to changes in space and time.