Dance in tune with a wider audience

"After the show, I received more than 10,000 messages on my Sina Weibo account, which really surprised me. I had never received so many comments before," says Li, who was born in Jilin province. He took up dancing at the tender age of 4 when he was instantly hooked on watching farmers dance yangge, a popular rural folk dance in Northeast China. He begged his parents to register him on a dance course. Four years later, he headed out on the professional dance route.

"Many people told me in their messages that they will buy tickets to watch dance in theaters from now on, just like they buy tickets to watch movies and pop concerts."

The messages showed that fans could relate to the emotions expressed through his sublime movements. A 33-year-old mother wrote that she would share the reality show with her son, who is learning dance, and that she was both impressed and encouraged by Li, "who is a determined dancer" and a role model for her son.

After the reality show's premiere, invitations flooded in but he decided to shun commercial performances and concentrate on choreographing new works.

"I spent years of hard training and have been open to different dance genres, which enriched and helped me control my body while dancing," he says as he points out the value of dance has been under-appreciated.

"What disappointed me most is that many Chinese dancers have been considered just as a backdrop, performing behind pop stars. For a long time, their artistic value has been underestimated.

"I hope this reality show will be a new start to improve this situation."

Li is one among the 50 groups of dancers selected from more than 6,000 participants, according to Hong Xiao, director of the dance show, which Hunan Satellite TV has been working on for a year to create.