Retirees dance away the cares of the world
Ni Xiaoyun would not have it any other way. She retired from work but not from dancing. Her fellow dancers in the Golden Hongqiao Dance Team in Minhang District feel the same.
This group of 35 people — average age 60 — first drew public attention when their performance of “Dream in the Sunset” won top prize in this year’s Shanghai Mass Art Works Competition.
The dance drama tells the story of a group of old people in a nursing home who revive their passion for life through dancing, and go on to win a competition. To a large degree, the show is a mirror of its performers.
Ni is the leader of the team. A former dancer in a military cultural troupe, she has been working as a volunteer at Hongqiao Town’s Culture and Sports Center, teaching the elderly to dance. She formed the amateur dancing troupe in 2004.
“We went around searching for the right candidates from those doing line dancing in public squares,” Ni said.
Members come and go, but the number in the troupe remains at about 35. Some have stuck with Ni from the start.
They rehearse on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Despite all the sundries of daily chores, such as cooking and taking care of grandchildren, they faithfully make time for rehearsals.
The team was first active in local performing events and later reached out to the Shanghai Dance Theater for some professional advice. Once they signed up for the competition, they devoted themselves to perfecting “Dream in the Sunset.”
In the beginning, some of the troupe members balked at the costumes and makeup because they said they ended up looking much older than they were. But, of course, age was the important factor in the dance.
“But gradually we came to see that this was our story, and it resonated with us more deeply each time we practiced the eight-minute routine,” Ni said.
The plot follows old people who were languishing in a nursing home. In dance, they found a fresh outlook on life. Their children were skeptical at first, worried that their parents might hurt themselves with such strenuous activity, but that didn’t deter the oldies. They were determined to participate in a dance competition. It had become their dream, and the dream made them glow.
The story of the dance had a happy ending, and each dancer who performed in the production was uplifted by its upbeat take on life.
The team refused to allow younger and more professional dancers to join them because they wanted to preserve the authenticity of the storyline.
The dancers visited a nursing home to soak in the atmosphere and watched “Full Circle,” a film that helped the show director envision what the team needed to do.
There were setbacks, to be sure. The dance required some leaps and running. Some sprains and soreness were inevitable.
Lead dancer Bian Zhengxian, 65, who suffered from gastrointestinal problems, held off treatment until after the competition.
“I was determined to stick it out to the end and not to sacrifice the efforts of the team,” he said.
Bian used to do a lot of dancing when he was young. After retirement and the formation of the team, he fell easily back into his old passion.
Ni’s daughter, who is now living in the US, watched the show on a video recording. She told her mother, “You have always remained young and pretty to me, Mom. You did a great job on stage.”
The team’s activities go beyond dancing. They also engage in aerobics and voluntary community work.
A new drama is brewing for the team — a New Year’s performance carrying the message that elderly people have to be on guard against fraudsters.
Golden Hongqiao also plans to take its award-winning dance to national competitions.
“We think it is too good a show to keep to ourselves,” Ni said. “Hopefully it can inspire more people our age to live their life with zest and embrace all opportunities.”