Street dancers turn on the style

In May, he was crowned champion in the first season of Street Dance of China, a popular online reality show on the video site Youku. Within three months, the number of his Sina Weibo account followers rose from 30,000 to 1 million. Since then, the number has more than doubled to about 2.5 million.

On Aug 18, Han was a torch bearer at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

"I lost 7 kilograms in three months during the reality show. I was exhausted but pleased. I met lots of dancers, both new ones and veterans, who shared a similar vision of street dance as I do. We share love and respect, although the onstage battle is fierce," he said.

After winning the reality show, he turned down opportunities to launch a career as a solo artist, focusing instead on teaching and choreography.

Lu Wei, director of Street Dance of China, said, "China has taken a major leap in street dance compared with years ago, when the major players in international competition came from the United States, Japan and South Korea.

"The dancers are young and creative. In addition to professional hip-hop dancers, there are many people in various occupations, including lawyers and students, who are devoted to it."

The second season of the show will launch next month. Lu said auditions started in October and more than 10,000 dancers from over 100 cities nationwide, ranging in age from 18 to 30, applied to take part in the show.

The four celebrity judges, who include singer-actor Yi Yangqianxi, who is a member of the Chinese boy band TFBoys, and singer-actor Show Lo, led the contestants in competing on a set that resembled an old-fashioned street corner.

In March last year, in addition to Street Dance of China, another reality show, Hot Blood Dance Crew, premiered on the online video platform iQIYI.