Flipping and spinning on a studio floor, 17-year-old Royal is a star on China's break-dancing scene, and is aiming for gold at the WDSF Breaking World Championships in Japan this week.

Royal, real name Guo Pu, shot to fame when she won both the youth and adult Asian Championships in June.

She is part of a growing Chinese force in break dancing, which combines acrobatic floor moves, footwork and rhythmic expression to hip-hop or funk music, and was included as an Olympic sport for the first time at Paris 2024.

"At first my grandmother would not let me do breaking, because back then, the dance form's reputation was not very good," Royal told reporters at the studio where she trains in her hometown of Pingyi, in the eastern province of Shandong.