A step in a new direction

The young woman, in high-heeled boots, sashays onto the stage swaying her hips to the music, powerfully, with her eyes maintaining clear and steady contact with the audience. It seems that she always knows when is the proper time to lift her chin, flip the hair or accentuate her streamlined silhouette within the rhythmic structure of the dance. Her chiseled arms, firm abs and powerful leg muscles seem more pronounced as she executes difficult dance moves with consummate ease, helping her to maintain a captivating stage presence featuring a blend of strength and femininity.

Mao Ning, 27, is using her stage charisma to win over the coaches of the talent show Great Dance Crew, which offers nearly 60 young women who have a strong passion for street dance to be trained by professionals and to prepare group performances of various styles. The show aims to tap their potential and showcase how these street dancers empower themselves through close teamwork with one another and the artistic expression of their personalities. It has been airing, since last month, on video-sharing platform Youku.

Lu Wei, the show's chief director, says that it gathers dance lovers in a similar way that a hobby club at a university attracts a group of students who share an interest.

"A young woman in her 20s might have an idea in mind as to the kind of person she wants to be in the future and tends to make friends with like-minded people," says Lu, adding that the show would follow a similar process.

Chinese celebrities, including pop stars Wang Feifei, Cheng Xiao and actor Alec Su from Taiwan, as well as Thai singer-dancer Ten and Japanese dancer Uno Santa, have been invited to coach participants.

Lu says that they are all experienced entertainers who are skilled in different styles of street dance. Additionally, each of them has the experience of being a member of a performance group.

They will help to create a harmonious, familial atmosphere of solidarity among the participants, which is beneficial to the development of these young women.

Mao knows from her own personal experience how important it is to have a group of peers who share the same passion.

It's hard to tell that Mao, a performer who oozes such confidence and an infectious energy, was an introverted girl who was afraid of speaking in class during her senior middle school years.

The turning point came in 2013, after she entered Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, where she joined a club called Just Dance.

"There, I was introduced to different styles of street dance, including hip-hop, jazz, popping and locking, and practiced with other club members for two hours every single day," recalls Mao.

She not only got to enrich her repertoire of moves, but also made close friends in the shared pursuit of better dancing skills.

"We would often go out to have a drink or sing in the karaoke bar together after finishing a day's dance training. I really enjoyed hanging out with them," she says.

Mao found that, gradually, she became more outgoing, talkative and willing to express herself through dance.

"I tend to be more excited and powerful when there's an audience watching me," she says.

Mao later founded a new dance group, with other members of Just Dance, to perform dances to hit songs and post the clips on video-streaming platform Bilibili, where they received positive feedback from many viewers.

On one occasion, the group got the opportunity to fly to Thailand to compete in a dance contest.

"Although the eleven of us could only afford to stay in a single room in a hostel, I felt so happy at that time. I wished that I could live with my dancing pals into old age," Mao says.

However, upon graduation, Mao, majoring in English and logistics engineering, soon faced a dilemma between dancing and finding a stable job related to her qualifications.

She got an offer from a vehicle manufacturer in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, but found it difficult to give up the dance group.

"Then, as a well-behaved, obedient daughter, I made a decision that went against my parents' will for the first time in my life," she says, confessing to a crucial turning point.

She stayed in Chengdu to be a freelance street dance teacher, riding around 40 kilometers on her scooter－flitting between different dance studios and the rehearsal room of her own dance group－on a daily basis.

"Every time I questioned myself about whether I should try and make a career out of dance, those friends who share the same passion would back me up," she says. "And the sense of responsibility I've shouldered always motivates me to be resolute."

In 2020, she successfully applied to be a postgraduate student in Chengdu Sport University, winning herself a larger platform to grow into a better street dancer. This move showed her parents her determination to succeed and they now support her choice.

Meanwhile, she started to transform her group into a commercial dance studio that recruits students and creates original choreography, for which she has also been learning marketing tactics.

As for why she joined the talent show, Great Dance Crew, she says that she wants to meet more street dancers of multiple styles to absorb the diversity of choreography, as well as promote her own dance studio.

The show encourages all participants to try various dance styles and collaborate with different groups of dancers, enabling them to explore more possibilities in the art form.

For instance, Zou Huaying, a graduate from Beijing Sport University and also a break-dancer, participated in the show and experienced some changes of her own.

Zou, a "B-girl" who used to wear oversized T-shirts and ragged jeans, winning over the crowd with cool stunts on the ground, unexpectedly chose to put on skirt and stage a cute dance with some other participants.

"I want to try something new in the show," Zou says. "All my teammates helped me to remember the movements and I finally got to release myself in the performance."

Lu, the director, says that for these young dance lovers, it's not just about winning. What also matters is that they have been exploring different possibilities to find a form of self-expression in dance that they really want to stick to in the future.

Chen Yuxi, 26, another participant in the show, agrees.

"I've been learning to derive energy from other dancers when we share ideas or practice together. The show provides a great environment for exchanging ideas," says Chen, a graduate from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.

The young choreographer specializes in combining the movements of street dance and Chinese-style dances, often drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese culture.

Recently, she posted a dance video online－featuring a classic theme from Farewell, My Concubine. In the scene, she dresses up in traditional garments to portray Yu Ji, the beloved concubine of general Xiang Yu (232-202 BC), a tragic hero well known in Chinese history, and explores the woman's spiritual world through an emotional dance.

To prepare for the performance, Chen learned how to swing a sword and probed the protagonist's inner world by reading historical books and watching costume TV dramas of relevant subjects. She also did hair and makeup on her own.

"The eagerness to present a more expressive dance performance drives me to be versatile," she says.