Young teacher devotes over a decade to teaching hearing-impaired students the art of dance

Giving up better career opportunities, Li Zhen, a 34-year-old dance teacher, has been teaching students with hearing disabilities how to dance to the rhythm of a silent world for about 12 years now.

Li Zhen gives a class to students. (Changjiang Daily/Peng Nian)

Li graduated from the School of Music at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, capital city of central China’s Hubei Province in 2010. He won several gold prizes when participating in national dance competitions during his university days. After graduating from the university, he rejected decent offers from employers such as the Hubei Song and Dance Troupe and instead became a teacher at the Wuhan No. 2 School for the Deaf in the provincial capital.

However, Li was very frustrated in the beginning because he was unfamiliar with sign language and was unable to communicate efficiently with his students.

Li Zhen gives instruction to students. (Changjiang Daily/Peng Nian)

To solve the problem, Li began to bury himself in learning sign language and had managed to get a good command of sign language in only two months.

Li teaches his students how to feel the rhythm of the music by putting his hands in the air to clap the rhythm and make gestures.

Over the past years, Li led the school’s art troupe to win 11 national awards. More than 70 of his students were enrolled in their ideal universities thanks to their exceptional skills and his guidance. In 2018, Li’s students defeated other teams comprised of children with no disabilities and took the crown at an international cheerleading open held in Italy.

Li Zhen gives instruction to students. (Changjiang Daily/Peng Nian)

On March 4, 2022, Li used sign language to conduct 50 individuals with hearing impairment, who staged a Winter Paralympic Waltz together with 40 individuals without disabilities at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games at the Bird’s Nest.

Liu Xin, the headmaster of the school, said that Li has had many opportunities to seek a better career these years, but he has nonetheless chosen to continue on in his role as a teacher at the school.