City of dance

Young: Teenagers practice their moves. Gao Erqiang / Shanghai Star

The next generation

Square dancers gets professional help

German dance resembles Chinese Thousand-Hand Guanyin

Every Sunday afternoon for the past eight years, her mother Zhou Yan has taken her to the studio at Sichuan Road North so she can dance at Fire Freezing Dance Studio.

This week, Min'er had to watch the second half of the class from the sidelines because her dance partner Xia Qi left early to study physics and prepare for his high school enrollment examination.

On Nov 1, Lu and Xia will team up to take part in a competition in Shanghai for young amateur dances under the age of 21.

Zhou annually spends 20,000 yuan (US$3,272) on her daughter's dancing, covering tuition, travel expenses and costumes for competitions.

"We have won some titles in national tournaments," Zhou says. "Not that I want her to be a professional dancer or to have an advantage in getting enrolled into a better school, but dancing helps her to be persistent and be a better person.

"Maybe one day, she will be the lead dancer at her company’s party," Zhou says, beaming.

"We have a distinctive disposition," three boys say unanimously, when asked: "what difference has Latin dance made on you?".

"We walk differently, and stand differently," they say. Dancing cha-cha and jive have not made them seem girly or made them suffer teasing, but rather won them awe from peers.

Fire Freezing Studio was founded by Chen Chao in 2008. One of the first Chinese Latin dancers to win international titles, Chen participated in a TV dance show and witnessed the sudden popularity of Latin dance in Shanghai.

"Many white-collar workers learn to dance as a way to keep fit and work out. Some retired people will join us too," Chen says. He says the most disciplined dancers are young people, from six to 20 years-old.

Some students go on to be professionals and study Latin and ballroom dancing at universities. "I will find work as a performer and dance teacher," says Yan Jiawen, a freshman at Shanghai Sports University who works part time as Chen's teaching assistant at the studio.