Yunnan province in China is a home of 27 different ethnical minorities with different cultural roots, customs, costumes and dances. Due to the favorable climatic conditions and fertility of the soil, people there are cheerful and friendly and like to spend free time: singing and dancing. Yunnan is known for its numerous festivals attracting visitors from all China and abroad. The object of this article is to examine different Yunnan dances on the background of the general history of dance in China from the Tang Dynasty onward, when she was so opened to the influences of foreign cultures and trends, investigate the changes concerning dances and their costumes from old times, when they were parts of different rituals, to the modern ethnical dances and dance dramas with new choreographies and costumes. As an example can be quoted the history of modern Dai minority Peacock dance, traditionally done by one man (sorcerer) who wore crested bird mask and had attached great wings to his hands. Now it is graceful feminine solo dance (known internationally in the modern choreography of a talented Bai nationality dancer Yang Liping), as well as a core of wellknown dance dramas (Zhaoshutun and Nanmuruona) performed by the Dance Ensemble of Xishuangbanna or Ashima, based on traditional folk Yi nationality forms with techniques adopted even from ballet, successfully combining traditional and modern art.