Delayed and forced to adjust its format by the COVID-19 pandemic, popular street dance competition makes a triumphant comeback with the third season promoting a theme of love and hope, Chen Nan reports.

Zhang Yixing (second from left), a celebrity judge on the show, Street Dance of China, takes part in a group performance on the third season of the show. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

On the rooftops of two high-rises, against the background of a seemingly empty city, two dancers start to sweat as they pound out their snazzy, smart steps. Cheers, from somewhere unseen, could be heard in waves encouraging every well-drilled step.

The opening scene of the third season of reality show Street Dance of China, which premiered on July 18, touched viewers' hearts. It resembled a scene witnessed by many cities during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, when people were confined to their homes, leaving the streets empty, but still found social cheer by greeting neighbors from their windows.

The opening performance ended up with a collective ensemble of 400 street dancers.

The first episode of the new season received warm feedback from viewers, many of whom were fans of its first two seasons, which garnered 1.86 billion views and 2.18 billion views, respectively.

Lu Wei, director of the reality show, which was produced by Chinese online video platform Youku, was inspired by similar scenes he saw play out in online short videos made by people in Wuhan, when the city was severely hit by the pandemic and was forced into lockdown.

"The pandemic has had a deep influence on every one of us, and made our show's third season different," says Lu, adding that before the outbreak, the program had planned to have over 100 contestants from overseas to join in the show, an idea that sadly had to be aborted.

Ye Yin, winner of the second season. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The public health crisis has hit many sectors, including the hip-hop dance scene.

"For street dancers, they couldn't do their regular jobs, such as giving performances, conducting street dance training classes and participating in street dance competitions. However, their passion for the art never dies," says Lu.

"When we discussed the theme of the third season, we soon decided to deliver a message about the battle for love and for hope."

And the message seemed well-received.

"Watching the dancers' performances gave me goose bumps," comments a fan, Zai Qiqi. "There are some dancers returning to the show from the first two seasons and I am excited to see which of the new competitors might become the dark horse of the competition."

Like the first two seasons, the reality show has four celebrity judges－Zhang Yixing, Jackson Wang, Wang Yibo and Wallace Chung－to lead over 400 competitors chosen from thousands of candidates from across the country to battle in the show.

"The four judges have developed their careers in music and acting," says another fan. "When they are on the show, they display a different side as great dancers, especially when they are battling with the other dancers."

Ye Yin, winner of the second season. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Ye Yin, the winner of the second season, also performed in the new season's first episode. The 28-year-old from Shanghai has had a hectic schedule since he rose to fame. He launched his own dance studio in Shanghai last March, which offers street dance classes to over 700 students of various ages.

In January this year, Ye strained the ligaments in his knees after jumping from a high platform during a performance in Shanghai. He had to rest at home for weeks.

Because of the pandemic, he then had to cancel all his performance and training plans.

Many of his dancer friends also canceled plans to participate in street dance competitions held both in China and abroad.

"The outbreak forced people to stay at home. It was frustrating for street dancers, who couldn't dance together," says Ye, who was first drawn to street dance by watching Michael Jackson's music videos as a primary school student. He started to learn street dance in high school, usually dancing for hours every day and even found himself dancing while walking down the street.

"I feel happy when I dance. I never expected to launch a career as a dancer. It's totally out of passion," he adds.

Jackson Wang (center), a celebrity judge of the show, Street Dance of China, poses with contestants. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Besides dancing, Ye is also a designer, who obtained his bachelor's degree from Shanghai Institute of Technology with a major in art and design.

"When we knew that the latest season of the reality show was about to premiere, all my dancer friends felt excited," says Xia Rui, deputy director of the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, which was founded by the Chinese Dancers Association in 2013.

"The reality show is like a home for street dancers. Many Chinese dancers joined in to communicate and display their skills," Xia adds.

The committee has more than 30 subcommittees nationwide and has been participating in, and promoting, the reality show since its first season. Original choreographic works based on a combination of street dance styles and Chinese dance styles were encouraged by the committee to localize the Western art form and showcase Chinese dancers' creativity.

There are over 3 million people in the country working in fields related to street dance. Xia says that 90 percent of private street dance organizations are on the verge of closing down due to the pandemic.

"It's a heavy blow to the whole street dance industry and now with everything getting back to normal gradually, we want to attract more people to the dance through the reality show," Xia adds.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn