This study is about the comparative research of catharsis, rasa, shinmyung which are renowned concepts of explaining the mechanism of aesthetic experience in the East and the West. Even though these terms are evolved from the discussion of dance drama in original, dance researches regarding these subjects are hard to find. Therefore in these days, the terms are applied and used to explain the aesthetics of drama and mask dance. Thus this study discusses these concepts in the context of dance and tries to explain the structure of dance and the mechanism of the aesthetic experiences and the artistic communications in dance. The main hypothesis of this survey is that these three concepts of the Orient and the Occident have common features in depicting the characteristics of artistic experience and the human values of art, even if they are originated in different eras and the objects of their discussions were different. So this writer argues that they are only different terms and wordings used to explain the mechanism of aesthetic experience in art. The theories of catharsis, rasa and shinmyung are reviewed and applied in dance works which this writer considers an apt case that displays the aforementioned characteristic responses of viewers in the process of appreciating dance. The findings of this study are summarized in four aspects: Catharsis, rasa, shinmyung are basically the concept of explaining the aesthetic experiences only in different cultures and societies. From ancient dances up to contemporary dances, the type of Aristotle’s musical catharsis is the most frequently and continuously found characteristic artistic experiences in the appreciation of dance. The tragic catharsis is not the universal or the representative aesthetic experiences that can be found in contemporary dance. The taste and the subject of tragic drama loses popularity in contemporary dance works. Rasa is an excellent concept of pointing out the sense of unity between the performer and the appreciator of art works. But the specific emotions attached to each rasa raises a barrier in the universal application of this concept. Shinmyung is originally discussed in the context of mask dance and street dance which are dance impromptu in nature. Thus shinmyung befits ill in the traditional korean court dances and the performing dances like technical theater dance and contemporary dance.