Popularity spreads

While young Chinese see hip-hop as a form of exercise or even a way to earn a living, street dance has also been looked on favorably by parents recently, who allow their children to take it up in their spare time.

Nine-year-old Xue Enqi, who lives in Shanghai, became interested in street dance three years ago and takes classes every week, focusing on locking and breaking.

Her mother, Zheng Shuang, 38, said she has exposed Xue to many art forms since she was about 4. Before she took up street dance, Xue learned piano and jazz dance.

"Since she started taking the classes, she has fallen in love with street dance and wants to become a dancer-choreographer like her teacher," Zheng said.

The popularity of street dance has reached the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which boasts cultural diversity and borders eight countries, including India, Mongolia and Pakistan. The local people have an innate talent for dancing and singing.

One of the street dance pioneers in the region was Firkat Bahadeer, 40, a Uygur who was born and raised in Urumqi, the regional capital. His father, who taught mathematics at Xinjiang University and studied in Japan in the early 1990s, showed Bahadeer a video of Japanese street dancers, introducing him to the dance form.

Bahadeer, who graduated from the law school at Xinjiang University and worked briefly as a lawyer, decided to quit and travel to Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and then to Shanghai in 2001 looking for opportunities to learn with professional street dancers.

He recalls clearly the day he attended a hip-hop party in Shanghai for the first time, after having traveled to the city alone.

"Even before I entered the room I was overwhelmed by the loud music and the hip-hop beat. My body moved to the rhythm, and everything I saw, such as the dancers, the DJs and my reflection in a mirror, seemed like scenes from a slow-motion movie. For someone like me, a young guy from remote Xinjiang, it was like an amazing dream," he said.

In Shanghai, Bahadeer met with Wang Han, a street dancer and choreographer. In 1999, Wang opened a street dance studio, Dragon Dance. Bahadeer started dancing with Wang, and an increasing number of people from Xinjiang traveled to Shanghai to learn the dance form from him. Soon afterward, Bahadeer opened his own street dance studio, DSP (dream, soul and passion) in Urumqi.

This month, Bahadeer, with help from Wang, the head judge of Hip-Hop International China, took the organization's street dance competition to Xinjiang.

In two days, dance lovers from across the region flocked to the city as competitors and spectators.

Hip-Hop International, founded in 2002, has branches in more than 50 countries and regions, all of which send teams to the world championship, which was held in Shanghai three years ago.

"In Urumqi, the event feels more like a festival. In addition to competing in front of the judges at the venue, the streets also become remarkable places for the dancers to practice, communicate and to have fun," Bahadeer said.

[email protected]