"We get together because we both love to dance." This is the line in the movie "Dance Out of My Life", and it is also the inner portrayal of many square dance lovers. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, in the Jiading Town Street Cultural Center at No. 196 Qinghe Road, there are always many agile figures, and the one standing at the front of the line is particularly eye-catching.
He is Li Wei, the captain of the Jiading Town Street Art Beauty Dance Team, and also the "sports star" of the third Shanghai Municipal Games last year, and like the male protagonist of the movie, Taylor, the dance accompanies Li Wei through the peaks and valleys, and has become an important part of life.
Pictured: Li Wei is leading the dance Xinmin Evening News reporter Li Mingyan photographed
Tie the red line
When he was young, Li Wei showed a strong interest in song, dance and other literary and artistic activities, which not only added a lot of fun to his life, but also unconsciously "led" a red line for him.
In 1974, the 18-year-old Li Wei came to Loudang Township to join the team, and because of his love of literature and art, he quickly participated in the propaganda and performance activities of the township cultural station. At that time, the cultural station would rehearse performances, operas and other programs to tour the villages, which laid the foundation for his literary and artistic talent, and at the same time he also met a girl with common hobbies at the cultural station- Zhu Yun.
After Li Wei returned to the city in 1979, the girl who had worked with him in the township literary troupe remained in his heart. Some people say that people with similar interests always have the opportunity to come together, Li Wei and Zhu Yun are like this, dance and literature and art, not only let the two join hands again, but also write a happy marriage.
Pictured: Li Wei is directing the dance team members Xinmin Evening News reporter Li Mingyan photographed
In the late 1980s, Shanghai began to hold song and dance competitions one after another, and the couple, who were good at creating and choreographing and singing well, signed up for the Casio Cup Family Singing TELEVISION Competition and the Shanghai Latin Dance Competition, becoming the "literary and artistic celebrities" of the community. They also often participate in amateur performances of various cultural departments in the county, contributing their own strength to enriching the cultural life of the masses.
Re-"entrepreneurship"
With the gradual rise of square dance, Li Wei and his wife, who have been working in the field of traditional dance for many years, began another "entrepreneurship".
"Compared with other dances, square dance has stronger physical exercise attributes, and has distinct characteristics in terms of music selection, movement choreography and rhythm control." Li Wei admits that when he first came into contact with square dance more than a decade ago, he was indeed a little uncomfortable, but the dance skills and experience accumulated over the years helped him adapt to the new dance style at the fastest speed, "mainly to find the sense of rhythm, and then gradually follow the dance, and then practice makes perfect." Li Wei said that he maintains a certain amount of exercise every day, square dance is his first choice, "dance has a common place, as long as you dare to try, you can always find the trick, compared to the presentation effect, enjoy the fun of dance fitness, let more people move, more important." ”
In 2011, Mr. and Mrs. Li Wei had the idea of teaching community residents dance for free in the streets of Jiading Town, and with the support of all parties, the Yimei Dance Team was officially established. In the past 10 years, the couple has brought their own equipment, self-choreographed actions, and self-arranged music, which has given many residents, especially middle-aged and elderly residents, an option for exercise and fitness. "Now the dance team is very large, the team members are getting better and better, and they will participate in some performances and competitions, and everyone has a very fulfilling and happy life, which is what we hope to see." Levik said he regularly updates his action choreography and soundtrack to keep the team fresh and truly enjoy themselves.
New attempts
At the beginning of last year, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Li Wei and his team were affected to a certain extent, and the original gathering activities were suspended. The team members were worried about whether the dance activities could continue. In this regard, Levik quickly gave the answer: the activity continued, but the location was changed from offline to online.
Online teaching is easy to say, but the real operation is not simple, Li Wei not only has to record relevant teaching videos, but also be responsible for the integration and combing of details such as action decomposition, mirror teaching, and post-scoring, and the workload is really not small. "After retirement, I have more free time, my children have their own successes, I don't have any worries, it's fun to make dance videos, and my lover is also very supportive." He revealed that every time there is a new dance idea, he will first spend 1-2 days to complete the action creation, and then with music, and then use a morning time to complete the whole set of shooting, "those computer operations look quite complicated, but after the real operation is skilled, it can also be completed more efficiently, I learned new skills, I also like it, and I can bring fun to everyone, in one fell swoop." ”
Now, with the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, Li Wei and the Yimei Dance Team have begun to implement a two-pronged online and offline model, and last week, they were invited to perform at Gucun Park. Speaking about the future, Li Weik said that he hopes that more young people can join the square dance group and inject new vitality into this booming project, "People must remain cheerful in order to learn to enjoy life, and dance can make people's body and mind more enjoyable, which is why we love it." (Xinmin Evening News reporter Lu Weixin)