Zhang Yashu plays princess Kanica in dance drama Batir Manas.[Photo by Ding Zhenqiang provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang Yashu played princess Kanica in dance drama Batir Manas.

Zhang, chief dancer in Wuxi Arts Performance Group was born in 1987 and now she is famous in China. She won the second place in Dance of China in 2014, and won a lot of fans because of the TV show.

She has created a lot of original dances and received acclaims from audience and professionals. One of her brilliant works is Wind, which originated from a Chinese poem. “Nobody saw the wind” is the first line of the poem, and the magic of the dance is that everybody catches sight of it. Zhang planted four fans in the stage, and she dance with a chiffon strip, which waved with and embodied the wind.

Zhang mentioned it was an excellent experience to dance with the Kirgiz dancers. “They are born to dance. They have their dancing talent and unique style. I enjoy working with them and learning from them,” Zhang said.

However, she pointed out that the dance drama is not a so hot art performance compared with pop singers’ solo and films. Zhang also said about their efforts for the art, “ We now give away some tickets and sell some coupons. The dancing art is amazing. You will love it once you watch it . ”

Zhang has learned to dance since childhood. She won the national dancing championship for teenagers at the age of 13, and signed with Wuxi Arts and Performance Group in 2007. She held her dancing solo at Great Hall of the People in 2012. Zhang won her huge bunches of fans in 2014 because of the TV show – Dance of China.

After the Dance of China, many brokers wanted her to sign on as a professional entertainer. The dancer refused them. She said she would never refuse to be a professional dancer, but not an entertainment star of other fields. Zhang chose to come back Wuxi, and dance as she did before.

When talking about the pains and the shortcomings of her job, she smilingly explained, “I know all bad things of it. It brings physical injuries and it is a job only for young people. But I still love it, and I will continue to do it as long as I can.”

The TV show brought her fame as well as some slanders. Zhang said, initially she could not sleep when she heard the rumors , but now she can handle it and does not mind. “I am grateful for the TV show. It makes more people know the charms of dance and brings more popularity and fans to the art. I’m willing to attract more public attention for the dancing art, if I can,” Zhang added.