Steps in a new direction

Recounting those days, he says: "When I performed the moves in front of my classmates for the first time, the students gathered around me and asked me to teach them the moves."

However, his parents were against the idea of break dance, since it was then considered "unhealthy" and associated with a "bad boy" image. So Wu had to practice after school secretly.

After graduating from high school, Wu got a job at a local singing and dancing troupe. And he made about 10 to 15 yuan ($2) a day by performing break dance.

In 1988, aged 18, he became a celebrity in his hometown after winning a street dance competition. In the early 1990s, he made a lot of money after opening his own dance club. However, in 1996, he lost all his money after his business failed and he had to work as a plumber, an electrician and a painter to repay his debts.

"My life was a total mess then. My then girlfriend left me and I broke my leg while performing to make money," recalls Wu. "I left home for 12 years because I disappointed my family, especially my mother.

"The only thing that made me happy were movies about street dance. I watched them over and over. And whenever I danced to the music from the movies, I felt alive."