The basic skills include dance movements, and special acrobatic movements while singing or reciting. It is very important for all opera actors and actresses to master these basic skills.

The following are the main basic skills:

Waist and leg exercises are necessary for developing the ability to do leaps and somersaults. Dances and acrobatics call for supple waists, so that the performers can control their centers of gravity. Waist and leg exercises include somersaults, swaying from right to left and from left to right, kicks, leg stretches and pulls, and upward straightened leg movements.

Tanzi (carpet) skills are needed to make all kinds of somersaults, leaps, jumps, and falls. It got its name because practice is carried out on a carpet or rug. Most movements, including four-directional somersaults, are done with the hands placed on the ground or with leaps and jumps.

Bazi (bundle) skills are combat techniques. Stage weapons include the broadsword, spear, sword, long-handled ax, hook, fork, and staff. Combat skills fall into three categories. The first is the use of long weapons such as the broadsword, long-handled spear, and staff. The second is the use of short weapons such as the sword, double swords, and dagger. The third is the use of only one's bare hands.

Combat can be either serious or funny. The former emphasizes the characters of the antagonists, while the latter shows off the skills of the performer. Both require that the fighting be emotional, rhythmical, and conventional.

Fan skills are body techniques. The fan used on the stage is a special property used to express many kinds of meanings and situations. All roles, especially including the xiao sheng and hua dan, use the fan.

Handkerchief skills are also body techniques originating from a song-and-dance duet popular in Northeast China and developed from Jiqu Opera. Traditionally, the handkerchief had either four or eight corners. It can be waved and turned inside out, shaken, held up, kicked, thrown, or propped up with a finger. In the past few years other kinds of handkerchiefs have appeared on the opera stage.

Beard skills are body techniques too. The actor can manipulate his beard in many ways -- including pushing, pulling, holding up, spreading, tearing, throwing, shaking, circling, and blowing -- to express a variety of feelings. Some of these actions are done at the same time. All these techniques are required to match the dance movements in order to correctly express the feelings of the character.

Cap wing skills involve manipulating the wings of the gauze cap. With the neck as the axis, the actor moves the wings of the cap up and down, twirls them, or moves hem to the left or right, or from the front to the back. Sometimes, he makes just one of the wings move. The actor makes them move or stop moving to indicate contradictory feelings, hesitation, or sudden joy, and so on.

Hair swinging skills are techniques for a male role. Swinging the hair is a special movement to express the abnormal feelings of the character or other situation the character is in, such as fear, sadness, hatred, running away, or agony or peacefulness amidst death throes. The techniques include swinging, circling, twisting, and spreading over the face or up in the air.

Sleeve skills are the lavish, dance-like movements made with flowing sleeves. There are dozens of movements, likened to clouds, flowing water, cotton fields, waves, wheels, and towers. Sleeves whirled in a wheel-like or flying movement exaggerate the feelings of characters. Holding up, spreading, throwing, shaking, and flicking are favorite movements.
Lingze skills involve the manipulation of the two long pheasant tail feathers worn on warriors' helmets. They include shaking and swinging. Such techniques are used in many roles, but especially in the xiao sheng role. Sometimes the feathers are shaken with one hand, sometimes with two. Together with head and body movements, the movements of the feathers express mental feelings and dispositions such as surprise, hatred, happiness, and frivolity.