Students in rural Zhejiang ramp up practice for Hangzhou Asian Games

Photo shows a dance group rehearsal at a rural school in Baishuiyang town, Linhai city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Fan)

A dance group from a rural primary school in east China's Zhejiang Province is intensifying their rehearsals in hopes of performing at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.

Each day from noon, the students from a school in Baishuiyang town, Linhai city, practice their dance routine, which emphasizes the butterfly motif, under the guidance of their teacher, Wang Qiaolu.

Photo shows a dance group from a school in Baishuiyang town, Linhai city, performing at a dance competition held in Taizhou city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Wang, who graduated from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, said, "The butterfly dance is an original work from my alma mater, based on Zhejiang's traditional folk dance called 'eighteen butterflies'." The performance combines traditional dance moves with modern rhythms.

"In the performance, the children are like beautiful butterflies flying into the Hangzhou Asian Games, and towards a brighter horizon," said Wang. She added that she would do her utmost to support more rural children in pursuing their passion for dance.