Take it to street

Xia Rui, deputy-director, China Hip-Hop Union Committee.

"During the past 10 years, street dance is not a minority taste anymore. It's a culture embraced by young people. The performances of street dances on television shows and in movies helped the dance form quickly spread in China," says Feng Shuangbai, president of the China Dancers Association. He says he hopes that "more highly skilled dancers and choreographers will be discovered via this competition".

Xia, who was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi province and graduated from the CUC with a major of TV and movie directing in 2006, studied further for his master's degree at the same university in 2011 and worked at China Central Television before devoting himself to promoting hip-hop dance in 2013.

Since the China Hip-Hop Union Committee was founded, he says, over 30 subcommittees have been launched across China during the past four years.

He has just concluded the recording of a variety show, called Dance World, which will be aired by CCTV during the summer vacation and features 80 young Chinese hip-hop dancers.

Xia also notes that though hip-hop dance is an imported culture, Chinese dancers have combined it with Chinese culture, including tai chi, martial arts and local operas.

Xiao Jie, a hip-hop dancer-choreographer and a native of Chengdu, Sichuan province, is one of the pioneers.