A talented rising star in dance
In 2008, the Beijing Olympics were approaching, and the whole of China was immersed in joy and pride. As the solo dancer at the opening ceremony of this Olympic Games, Liu Yan will shine on this grand stage.
Speaking of Liu Yan, she has long been a "talented new star" in the domestic dance industry. At the age of 17, Liu Yan was sent to Beijing Dance Academy by the Beijing Dance Academy with his amazing dancing talent.
In the academy, Liu Yan worked diligently, drawing the ground all day long, and constantly enriching his dancing skills. In his junior year, Liu Yan participated in a national dance competition, and stood out among many strong opponents with a song full of style "Rouge Buckle" and won the championship in one fell swoop.
That competition opened the door to Liu Yan's popularity, and the reputation of "amazing skills" has been associated with her since then.
After graduating, Liu Yan chose to stay on to teach and joined the professional dance troupe of the Beijing Dance Academy. Here, Liu Yan constantly shows his superb dancing posture on the stage, conquering the audience's attention.
Her rich performance experience has also allowed Liu Yan to accumulate "considerable prestige" in the domestic dance industry.
For a dancer, it is a great "glory and affirmation" to be able to stand on such a big stage as the Spring Festival Gala and dance. On this "masterpiece" like a show, Liu Yan, who "amazed the four in his debut", successfully proved his strength to the audience.
Since then, Liu Yan's status in the dance industry has become more "double grand" and has established his status as a leader of the new generation.
Meet your mentor and meet your soulmate
The Spring Festival Gala in 2006 not only made Liu Yan famous, but also allowed her to get acquainted with an important life mentor - Lang Kun. Lang Kun is a veteran dance director who admired Liu Yan's talent in the Spring Festival Gala and took the initiative to hand over an olive branch and invite Liu Yan to join in the creation of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
For Liu Yan, Lang Kun is like a "bosom friend" on the road of art, able to understand her artistic pursuits and give correct guidance. The two often exchange ideas on dance creation, and Liu Yan has also benefited a lot from it.
At Lang Kun's suggestion, Liu Yan took the initiative to give up other performance opportunities and devoted himself to the rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Because Liu Yan knows that for a dancer, standing on the stage of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is a "rare and excellent opportunity". With a global audience, Liu Yan must go all out and seize this opportunity to showcase Chinese dance to the world.
With Lang Kun, a mentor who understands her and understands her, Liu Yan's heart is also "full of confidence and expectation".
Under the careful guidance of Lang Kun, Liu Yan continued to improve his dancing level and tempered his "dancing posture to be more exquisite and vivid". She and Lang Kun could often discuss the art of dance until the early hours of the morning, and both of them improved from each other.
In Liu Yan's heart, Lang Kun is not only a mentor, but also a respectable "bosom teacher", who can lead her to a more beautiful dance path.
飞来横祸,一失足成千古恨
Just when the rehearsal for the opening ceremony entered the final stage, an accident changed the trajectory of Liu Yan's life.
That day, Liu Yan focused on rehearsing her solo dance program as usual. In a transition of dance moves, she needs to move from a three-meter high to a moving stage below.
It was a move she had rehearsed hundreds of times, but that day, the gears of fate quietly turned, and "an accident happened".
At the moment when Liu Yan fell, the mobile stage started 1 second early, which caused Liu Yan to fall the edge of the stage. "+ Violent impact +" instantly took away Liu Yan's consciousness, followed by + "heart-rending pain".
The staff present were all stunned by this sudden change, Liu Yan rolled on the ground in pain, and no one dared to touch her.
The whole process happened so suddenly that when the doctor arrived, the diagnosis made everyone desperate - Liu Yan's legs were seriously injured, and it was difficult to return to a fully functional state.
In an instant, Liu Yan saw the collapse of his life. The opportunity to stand on the Olympic stage was just around the corner, but he fell into the abyss because of an accident.
This "flying disaster" is undoubtedly the "unfortunate heavy blow" of Liu Yan's life, and she has been depressed for a long, long time.
Heartbroken, the impermanence of fate
After the accident, Liu Yan fell into despair and fear that he had never felt before. At that moment, she saw the cruel face of the impermanence of fate.
I thought that I was only the last line away from my dream, and I would definitely be able to shine at the opening ceremony. But in the blink of an eye, it all came to naught. This sudden change was like a "heavy hammer", which shattered Liu Yan's heart.
What made Liu Yan even more sad was that her mentor Lang Kun did not show up when she needed support the most. After the accident, Lang Kun did not come to visit Liu Yan. In Liu Yan's eyes, Lang Kun is his most respected mentor, and the two have had many friendships.
But at this moment, Lang Kun's indifference and absence made Liu Yan realize that he might just be a "dispensable tool" in his heart.
This kind of ignorance is undoubtedly another "spiritual blow" to Liu Yan. She began to reflect on whether her position in Lang Kun's heart was not as important as she imagined.
Perhaps, he is just a pawn for him to achieve his goal, and once he loses his use value, he will be abandoned.
This kind of realization made Liu Yan's heart as painful as a knife. Once, she regarded Lang Kun as a mentor, but now she understands that she may be the object of his use. On the opening day of the Olympic Games, Liu Yan cried silently in the hospital room alone, watching others realize their dreams outside the TV screen, and her heart hurt a hundred times more than her legs.
This series of blows put Liu Yan into an unprecedented trough. She began to doubt life and the justice of heaven and earth. But in the end, fate is impermanent, heaven is selfless, and Liu Yan can only accept this cruel arrangement.
Regain confidence and break out of the cocoon into a butterfly
After experiencing this catastrophe, Liu Yan once fell into confusion and helplessness about the future. But there's a silver lining to her heart – and that's her love of dance.
One day shortly after he was discharged from the hospital, Liu Yan passed by the dance practice room of his alma mater in a wheelchair. The familiar scenes and music evoked her memories of dance, and also ignited the extinguished fire in Liu Yan's heart.
It dawned on her that even though her legs might be hard to move, her hands were still at her sides.
At this moment, Liu Yan made up her mind that no matter how hard she tried, she must "continue her dance career in another form" by re-learning and Xi.
She does not allow herself to give up under the blow of fate, her life is not over, as long as there is still a breath, she will "break out of the cocoon into a butterfly and be reborn".
From that day on, Liu Yan began a long process of rehabilitation. As soon as she has time, she comes to the dance studio and starts with the most basic hand movements. Step by step, accumulating over time, Liu Yan regained the feeling of training before.
She began experimenting with a combination of hand movements and body language to create unique hand dance pieces.
Finally, in 2009, Liu Yan completed a new solo hand dance program. She returned to the stage to show all the audience a new version of herself.
The applause from the audience was thunderous, and everyone was impressed by Liu Yan's strong-willed spirit. At this moment, Liu Yan was reborn, like a butterfly breaking out of a cocoon.
Interpret tenacity and achieve dance dreams
After experiencing life and death, Liu Yan chose to continue to chase the dream of dance, but the form has changed. She is no longer obsessed with the flying of her feet, but has begun to devote herself to the research and innovation of hand dance.
After returning to the stage in 2009, Liu Yan was admitted to the School of Dance as a doctoral student. She chose hand movements in classical Chinese dance as her research direction.
In this "seemingly remote field", Liu Yan has found new possibilities.
She devoted herself to research and developed a new interpretation of classical dance techniques. With amazing perseverance, Liu Yan has carved out a new world in this field."
Eventually, she received her Ph.D. and published several innovative academic papers that shed new light on the development of hand dance. This is the "precious achievement" of her dream of dancing in another form.
After graduating, Liu Yan returned to his alma mater, Beijing Dance Academy, and began his teaching career. She imparts her "hard-earned experience" to her students, guiding them not to be defeated by fate, and to always keep the flame of dance love for their dreams.
Under Liu Yan's careful cultivation, batch after batch of outstanding dance talents have gradually emerged.
Today, the 41-year-old Liu Yan is a charismatic dancer and mentor. She co-wrote and directed the original dance drama "Blue Skirt" with her students, which was "successfully performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts", presenting a new dance art effect to the audience.
All of this is interpreting Liu Yan's persistence in her dance dream, which has become a "singing and crying feat" in her life.
Never give up, courage lights up life
Liu Yan's story shows people what is called willpower to never give up. Even if fate hit her hard, she did not give in, but found the courage in her heart and lit up another path in life.
High paraplegia is undoubtedly a huge blow to a dancer. But Liu Yan chose to face the predicament and catch up, so that she finally overcame the cruelty of fate and returned to the stage she loved.
This "+" spirit of self-improvement +" infected and inspired all the audience.
Today, Liu Yan has become an outstanding representative of the disabled people, and she called on the majority of disabled friends to maintain a positive attitude, even if they encounter difficulties, do not give up easily.
Because in each of us, there is a light in our hearts that can light up the road ahead.
In 2022, Liu Yan appeared in the field of vision as a torchbearer of the Paralympic Games. She holds a torch in her hand, her eyes are resolute, and her bright smile expresses her love for life.
This became a classic and touching picture at the Paralympics, and warm applause rang out inside and outside the venue, and everyone was infected by Liu Yan's spiritual power.
Liu Yan used his own story to tell the world that it is inevitable that he will encounter difficulties on the road of life, and even fall to the ground. But the key is to "keep hope and discover the courage in your heart", as long as there is still a breath of air, there is no day to reach the end.
Liu Yan used her 41-year-old youthful posture to interpret for people what is called infinite possibilities in life".
epilogue
Liu Yan's story shows the world the mental journey of a dreamer who breaks the chrysalis into a butterfly.
That seemingly cruel accident could have ended Liu Yan's dance journey. But she didn't stop there, but chose to save herself and be reborn. When her legs can't fly, she uses her hands to interpret the beauty of dance.
This spirit of never giving up and forging ahead is worth learning from everyone Xi.
Liu Yan was not defeated by fate, on the contrary, she inherited her dream of dancing in a more open way. Zhang Yimou felt repentant for failing to appear on the Olympic stage, but now Liu Yan has already proved with her legendary life of nirvana rebirth - it is just a small episode in her life journey, and her life will never stop there.
This also tells us that the impermanence of fate is only short-lived, and the meaning of life lies in how to face it positively and how to turn crises into opportunities. Liu Yan's experience reflects the image of a striver who never gives up on her dreams, and her story will inspire more people to keep hope alive and bravely pursue their inner voice.
After the wind and rain, there is a rainbow. The 41-year-old Liu Yan has become a model for the new generation. She used her story to tell everyone - success comes from perseverance, hoping to produce miracles.
As long as there is still the flame of dreams burning in the heart, there is no time to reach the end. Liu Yan is the representative of the spirit of self-improvement in the new era, and also a mirror in the heart of every dreamer.
Let us remember this singing and crying struggler, on the journey of life, maintain the yearning and pursuit of a better life.