Big step forward

Street dance has never been so popular and is making its presence felt on the global stage. Break dancing, or breaking, a genre of street dance, is part of the recent 14th National Games in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and will also be included in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

It's huge progress for street dance, and "I totally agree with it", Rochka says with a laugh, speaking of the Olympics that will take place in his home country.

"Unfortunately, I cannot enter the competition because I'm not a good break dancer."

Yang Kai, the champion of the third season of Street Dance of China, has become the head coach of the Sichuan province break dancing team.

"Our ultimate goal is to be at the Olympics representing China," he states.

Still, no matter which genre the dancers specialize in, Street Dance of China is providing them with a warmup.

Lu reveals that an all-star international team will be formed by the end of this season and an ambitious worldwide performance tour under the Street Dance of China banner is also to be launched.

"They'll go back to their own countries like cultural ambassadors and organize competitions to choose talented dancers," Lu says. "When they come back for the fifth season, a global final will be staged."

As China now has capacity to host such a competition, the director adds, "we'll shoulder the responsibility, to avoid the world's street dance culture from being interrupted by the pandemic".

Thanks to the show, Chinese street dance culture has witnessed a boom in the past few years. According to statistics offered by Youku, in 2019, street dance training programs in China increased by 178 percent compared with the previous year, when the first season of Street Dance of China was released.

By the end of 2020, there were over 5,000 street dance studios in China, and it is estimated that there are more than 300,000 professional dancers nationwide.

"Online platforms have their advantages to make lesser-known cultures widely accepted by the public within a short period of time," Lu says. "When people watch street dance and love it, they'll naturally join this circle, and its influence will expand."

Han Yu, champion of the first season of Street Dance of China, is now a dance trainer. After a two-year hiatus, he has come back for the fourth season of the show.