Xiang Zhuang performs a sword dance, he is actually aiming at the Duke of Pei.

[Gweilo_Fist]

項莊舞劍, 意在沛公 - Xiang Zhuang performs a sword dance, he is actually aiming at the Duke of Pei.

https://ctext.org/shiji/xiang-yu-ben-ji

"Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Qian (司馬遷) completed around 94 BC.
《史記:項羽本紀 - Shiji:Annals of Xiang Yu》Translated by oskaryang
Verse 18

項王即日因留沛公與飲。項王、項伯東向坐。亞父南向坐。亞父者，范增也。沛公北向坐，張良西向侍。范增數目 項王，舉所佩玉珪以示之者三，項王默然不應。范增起，出召項莊，謂曰：「君王為人不忍，若入前為壽，壽畢， 請以劍舞，因擊沛公於坐，殺之。不者，若屬皆且為所虜。」莊則入為壽，壽畢，曰：「君王與沛公飲，軍中無以 為樂，請以劍舞。」項王曰：「諾。」項莊拔劍起舞，項伯亦拔劍起舞，常以身翼蔽沛公，莊不得擊 .

King Xiang invited Pei Gong to a feast on that day. King Xiang and Xiang Bo sat facing the east. Yafu sat facing the south. Yafu was namely Fan Zeng. Pei Gong sat facing the north. Zhang Liang sat beside (Pei Gong) facing the west. Fan Zeng glanced several times at King Xiang, holding the jade on his girdle to hint (that it was time to take action). King Xiang remained silence and did not react. Fan Zeng stood up, came out and found Xiang Zhuang, said to him: "The Lord has not the heart (to kill). You should go in and toast, then ask to dance with a sword, and kill Pei Gong on his seat. Otherwise we all will be his prisoner one day."
So Zhuang went in and toasted, then he said: "The Lord drinks with Pei Gong, but there is no entertainment in the army, please allow me to dance with my sword." King Xiang said: "Approved." Xiang Zhuang drew his sword and danced. Xiang Bo also drew his sword and danced along, protecting Pei Gong obscurely with his body. Zhuang had no chance.

In his book Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century, Peter A. Lorge states,

It is not clear what the sword dance was in terms of a performance. Music is not noted in the account, nor is there any mention of any greater spiritual or ceremonial value. It was an entertainment that a warrior could reasonably perform as an aesthetic practice, and that another warrior could also perform when needed. The form was also not set, in the sense of a strictly ordered series of movements, since Xiang Bo was able to place himself between Xiang Zhuang and Liu as needed. Xiang Bo elegantly and decisively frustrated the assassination without directly clashing with Xiang Zhuang.

(Chapter 3, Pg 63)

I have always found this account in the Records of the Grand Historian to be fascinating in terms of what exactly this "sword dance" looked like.

Was it actually a "dance" in the truest sense of the word as how we define it today? The Chinese translation certainly uses the literal phrase "劍舞" (Jiàn wǔ - Sword+Dance). But as Peter A Lorge had said, there was no indication of music being used in the account or any other historical context to be able to definitively conclude it was a true dance.

Strictly speaking in terms of historical context, would successful male military leaders and soldiers during the time of the Han Dynasty really be "dancing" for each other? Sima Qian's account makes no mention or hint of anyone else at the feast being confused or weirded out about two male generals dancing together, which would indicate that male sword dances (solo and duet) were completely normal.

Could it be an early form of what would eventually become regulated kung fu forms of later organized CMA styles and systems? Did the Chinese of antiquity define "dance" slightly different than we do today? Does the flexibility of the performance indicate that it could have in fact been an early form of shadow boxing rather than an actual dance performance?

In Chapter 1, pg 26 of Peter Lorge's book, the author states,

A Han dynasty dictionary would directly connect martiality, wu (武), with dance, wu (舞): "Martiality means to 'dance'; the movements of an assault are like the drumming out of dance."

On a separate note, this account in Sima Qian's "Record of the Grand Historian" does seem to contradict many TCMA practitioners' argument that modern Wushu is just a dance and therefore not real kung fu. Just sayin'. Lol