Xia Rui was one of the first to see the potential in the street dance zeitgeist, pushing the boundaries of, and promoting, the art form since the early 2000s, Chen Nan reports.

Scenes from Yellow River, an original street dance piece, co-choreographed by Xia Rui. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

With its primal rhythms and rapid-fire lyrics, delivered with hypnotic cadence by machine gun-lipped MCs, hip-hop is more than just music. It attaches itself to the listener, like invisible strings of a marionette, forcing even the most dedicated wallflower into nodding to the beat. This is the basis for an artistic phenomenon that, like the mesmerizing pulse of the music's bass drum, has gripped the imagination of the nation's youth, growing exponentially more popular since the pioneers of Chinese street dance first popped and locked at the turn of the century.

One of the first to surf the wave of this pop-culture zeitgeist was Xia Rui, who, in 2002, after moving from his hometown of Xi'an in Shaanxi province to study at the Communication University of China in Beijing, was introduced to hip-hop culture.

When ballet was brought to China, Chinese artists combined the Western art form with Chinese elements. ... It’s also true for street dance. We’ve seen many choreographers combining Chinese elements in their works, such as integrating martial arts into their dances.

Xia Rui, street dance choreographer, deputy director of China Hip-Hop Union Committee

As a freshman, he participated in dance communities and was introduced to music videos of Michael Jackson and Madonna, which soon led him to develop an interest in the dramatically expressive street dance.

Street dance originated in the United States in the 1970s and was practiced mostly by dancers from the African American and Latin communities. "Street dance" is an umbrella term for a wide range of dance styles, most notably breaking, locking and popping.

According to Xia, back in the early 2000s, few people in China knew what street dancing was. Back then "it was popular among university students", recalls Xia, who, in 2003, founded a hip-hop dance community at the Communication University of China. "Though our teachers and parents considered it to be a bad influence, it picked up quickly on campus. We soon had nearly 1,000 students in the community.

"It is a style of dance that is not only about skill, but also about creativity and displaying individuality," he adds.

During his second year at the university, Xia organized a street dance competition, gathering students who were also street dancing enthusiasts to perform together. The response to the endeavor boosted Xia's confidence.

Xia graduated with a major in TV and movie directing in 2006, going on to study for a master's degree. Every year, he organized the street dancing competition, which became a major event on campus.

After graduating in 2011, Xia worked at China Central Television before fully devoting himself to promoting street dance in China in 2013.

Now 40, Xia is one of the leading figures on the country's street dancing scene.

"Over the past decade, I'm surprised that street dance has not only taken root in China, but also become a popular art form among young people — especially young parents who consider it to be a fun way to keep their children healthy and entertained," says Xia, deputy director and secretary-general of the China Hip-Hop Union Committee since it was founded by the China Dancers Association in 2013.

Scenes from Yellow River, an original street dance piece, co-choreographed by Xia Rui. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Now, there are more than 30 subcommittees across China, involving over 300 cities and about 3 million people. According to the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, there are more than 8,000 registered street dance studios in China.

Xia has a hectic schedule, traveling around the country organizing street dance competitions, choreographing street dance works and seeking opportunities to further popularize the art form.

"We have a large fan base in China, who are street dance enthusiasts. It's also amazing that professional street dance artists are being recognized by name," Xia says.

He notes that the support of the government greatly helps in promoting the popularity of the art form. For example, teaching materials about street dance have been published by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing House in 2015, which enables the dance style to be formalized and systemic.

Xia leads a rehearsal of the dance piece. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

In 2018, Xia co-choreographed an original street dance piece entitled Yellow River, inspired by the Yellow River Cantata by the well-known composer Xian Xinghai (1905-45). The dance piece won the prestigious Lotus Award, the highest dance award in China, in the contemporary category.

"When ballet was brought to China, Chinese artists combined the Western art form with Chinese elements and the result was classic ballet pieces such as The Red Detachment of Women. It's also true for street dance," says Xia. "We've seen many choreographers combining Chinese elements in their works, such as integrating martial arts into their dances."

Now, he is working on a new street dance piece, which will focus on depicting the everyday life of contemporary young Chinese people.

The story is set against the backdrop of Guangdong province, so related cultural aspects pertaining to the region will be featured, including representations of the local food, the techniques of Wing Chun (a style of kung fu) and lion dancing.

And next year, a new street dance piece will be made by Xia in cooperation with Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe, featuring cultural elements synonymous with Chongqing.

Two street dancers perform with elements adapted from Peking Opera, a 200-year-old traditional Chinese art form. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The rising popularity of street dance has also caught the attention of TV show producers. Street Dance of China, a popular reality show produced by Youku, an online streaming media platform, premiered in 2018 and has enjoyed huge national popularity.

The latest season — the fifth — is now being broadcast, which has attracted widespread attention with the appearance of singer-actors Wang Yibo and Han Geng, singer Liu Yuxin and Korean American actor Nathan Lee.

"All those factors, such as wide internet exposure, high-profile celebrity collaborators and televised competitions, have contributed to the rising recognition of street dance, and has attracted plenty of enthusiasts," says Xia.

He also notes that when the International Olympic Committee added breaking, a genre of street dance, to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, since 2019, the art form's popularity and exposure has been elevated to even greater heights.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn