Society

Relentless practice makes dancing masters

By Cao Yin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-22 08:33

BEIJING - Three months of rehearsals will soon come down to one word for Tsinghua University's top dance group.

Showtime!

Members of the troupe have hardly had a chance to rest, with preparations for the university's 100th-anniverary celebrations keeping them up late.

"It's my first time joining a performance on such a large scale," said postgraduate student Yuan Feina, who has been rehearsing the routines from 10 pm to 12 pm every Thursday and Friday since January.

"It was too hard to coordinate all the dancers' times, because everyone had his or her own schedule," Yuan said. "So, we had to dance when other people had already fallen asleep."

Not only that, they even had to forgo a special celebration during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday when the university invited famous chefs from across the country to cook up special cuisines - foods usually served at four- and five-star restaurants.

Related readings:  Tsinghua University striving for higher goal  Tsinghua in her students' eyes  Dancing for 50 years at Tsinghua  Tsinghua's foreign academic connection

"My friends and I missed those delicious foods because of our busy rehearsals. What a pity," Yuan said.

"The dance group's members gave up family reunions and ate pudding together at the university's dining room this Lantern Festival to have more time to rehearse," Yuan said.

Those many weeks of practice, practice and more practice come together on Saturday and Sunday when they perform two dances in front of a prestigious audience.

One dance, called Hetangyuese, depicts the beauty of the lotus under the moonlight and needs more than 160 people to change formations during the whole performance.

Another dance, called Ordos, shows traditional life of the Mongolian ethnic group as they farm and sing on the grasslands, and will be performed by nearly 130 people.

The dance is a classical performance with a long history at Tsinghua, Yuan said.

"Besides young Tsinghua students, some alumni, who have come back from overseas to participate in the celebration, will also take part in this dance," Yuan told China Daily.

One former captain of the university's dance team, who is also very familiar with that dance, may also be in the audience that night. That former dance leader is now the country's leader - President Hu Jintao.

"Dancing in front of President Hu will be a very happy experience, because he is not just our leader, but is also like a classmate," said Luo Ziwei, another member of the dance team and Yuan's fellow student.

However, Luo is also nervous since the president is familiar with the dance.

"I don't want to make a mistake," he said.

During breaks from rehearsal, the dancers chit chat about many things, including whether Hu might join them on stage.

"The possibility of dancing with President Hu is small, but all the members of the dance team are hoping for the chance," Luo said.

Despite all the sacrifices she made for the performance, Yuan said it has been worth it.

"I was sometimes depressed as dancing occupied most of my spare time," she said.

"But I don't regret it, because those beautiful and meaningful days gave me a different campus life," she said.

"As a student in Tsinghua University, I'm so lucky to be here for its 100th birthday, which I expect to be one of the best experiences and memories in my life," Yuan said.