“Beijing to set out 12 choreographed dances due to nuisance complaints and disputes about women holding noisy hoedowns” The Guardian March 24th 2015
Has China ordered its middle aged and senior women citizens to toe the line? The General Administration of Sport and Ministry of Culture are involved in the regulation of ‘Square’ or ‘Plaza’ Dancing (guangchangwu). In the English speaking media, participants are known as ‘dancing grannies’. Women’s enthusiasm to keep fit and socialise at the same time has become a hot topic in the news but the reporting tells us more about attitudes to women and age than it does about state interference.
Night dancing is one of the great sights. This is especially true if you remember the quiet and gentle ranks of dark suited elderly people practicing T’ai Chi in parks and open spaces, seen much less often today. “Guangchangwu” is enjoyed by more than 100 million mainly women participants according to CCTV. Why is it so popular? China has a long history of dancing in public as a form of both exercise and celebration dating back to the Song Dynasty. Current improvements in the standard of living mean that attention can now be devoted to health and the spiritual life. Retired ‘damas’ have time when their home duties are complete, and gradually, many older working women have joined the team after work. It’s low cost, close to home and socially inclusive. Also, many of the participants were young during the Cultural Revolution and it has been suggested that Square Dancing may be a form of nostalgia for the folk and political dances of the time performed to celebrate the new dawn of Communism.
However it's also sometimes seen as creating a nuisance for local residents who are exposed to the cacophony of amplified boom boxes blaring along with the choreographed dancing as a nightly – and sometimes early morning - occurrence. China Daily has reported on coins, rocks and even faeces being hurled at the women by the disgruntled occupants of nearby apartment blocks. In a Brooklyn Park, New York, and Paris, the export of Chinese square dancing culture by tourists and expats has caused some embarrassment – the Paris video taken at the Louvre went viral; in New York, the 60 year old Chinese leader of the troupe was arrested. More than a thousand women in Xi’an who were in the exuberant final of a competition, later actually took an oath to create less noise pollution in the future.
This year, the Chinese government reacted to the criticism by prescribing a set of approved routines, volumes, and venues. The result was widespread criticism on Weibo, with comments on the difficulties of enforcing volumes, the lack of freedom for women to choose their own routines, and the exclusion of women from traditional sports and of other social opportunities. The government has in fact done quite a lot to promote Square Dancing by creating dancing teams according to local area, awarding prizes and even funding some teams. In addition, the General Administration of Sport can provide CDs and coaches. Today the 12 rules are described as ‘for guidance only’ except for volume guidance!
Yet in the foreign media quotes like “in China, few activities escape the watchful eye of the state – and soon that will include Square Dancing” (Agence France Presse, Beijing 2015) are unfair. China is really more like the ‘Wild East’ and it can be argued that the state is for most people pretty remote and the Ministries are struggling to cope with the exponential speed of social change.
But what most disturbs me about all this is the language used in the reporting, and not just in China. When did you last read about “menopause dancing”, “zombie dances”, “dancing grannies”, and “pesky senior citizens”? Some clips almost ask you to laugh at these women whilst comparing them with young schoolgirls. Surely China cannot be losing its veneration of the older person?
First published in the Nanjinger, May 2015
Has China ordered its middle aged and senior women citizens to toe the line? The General Administration of Sport and Ministry of Culture are involved in the regulation of ‘Square’ or ‘Plaza’ Dancing (guangchangwu). In the English speaking media, participants are known as ‘dancing grannies’. Women’s enthusiasm to keep fit and socialise at the same time has become a hot topic in the news but the reporting tells us more about attitudes to women and age than it does about state interference.
Night dancing is one of the great sights. This is especially true if you remember the quiet and gentle ranks of dark suited elderly people practicing T’ai Chi in parks and open spaces, seen much less often today. “Guangchangwu” is enjoyed by more than 100 million mainly women participants according to CCTV. Why is it so popular? China has a long history of dancing in public as a form of both exercise and celebration dating back to the Song Dynasty. Current improvements in the standard of living mean that attention can now be devoted to health and the spiritual life. Retired ‘damas’ have time when their home duties are complete, and gradually, many older working women have joined the team after work. It’s low cost, close to home and socially inclusive. Also, many of the participants were young during the Cultural Revolution and it has been suggested that Square Dancing may be a form of nostalgia for the folk and political dances of the time performed to celebrate the new dawn of Communism.
However it's also sometimes seen as creating a nuisance for local residents who are exposed to the cacophony of amplified boom boxes blaring along with the choreographed dancing as a nightly – and sometimes early morning - occurrence. China Daily has reported on coins, rocks and even faeces being hurled at the women by the disgruntled occupants of nearby apartment blocks. In a Brooklyn Park, New York, and Paris, the export of Chinese square dancing culture by tourists and expats has caused some embarrassment – the Paris video taken at the Louvre went viral; in New York, the 60 year old Chinese leader of the troupe was arrested. More than a thousand women in Xi’an who were in the exuberant final of a competition, later actually took an oath to create less noise pollution in the future.
This year, the Chinese government reacted to the criticism by prescribing a set of approved routines, volumes, and venues. The result was widespread criticism on Weibo, with comments on the difficulties of enforcing volumes, the lack of freedom for women to choose their own routines, and the exclusion of women from traditional sports and of other social opportunities. The government has in fact done quite a lot to promote Square Dancing by creating dancing teams according to local area, awarding prizes and even funding some teams. In addition, the General Administration of Sport can provide CDs and coaches. Today the 12 rules are described as ‘for guidance only’ except for volume guidance!
Yet in the foreign media quotes like “in China, few activities escape the watchful eye of the state – and soon that will include Square Dancing” (Agence France Presse, Beijing 2015) are unfair. China is really more like the ‘Wild East’ and it can be argued that the state is for most people pretty remote and the Ministries are struggling to cope with the exponential speed of social change.
But what most disturbs me about all this is the language used in the reporting, and not just in China. When did you last read about “menopause dancing”, “zombie dances”, “dancing grannies”, and “pesky senior citizens”? Some clips almost ask you to laugh at these women whilst comparing them with young schoolgirls. Surely China cannot be losing its veneration of the older person?
First published in the Nanjinger, May 2015