In May 2023, 26-year-old dancer Liu Ni encountered a sudden "popularity" in her life. A video of her impromptu barefoot dancing on the roadside in Wuzhen has been widely circulated on the Internet, triggering speculation among many netizens about Liu Ni's identity and the story behind it. Some people suspect that this is a deliberate performance art orchestrated by Liu Ni to gain attention, and there are even people who speculate that she may have suffered mental frustration due to misfortune and wandered the streets. After the parties and the dance company came forward to clarify, we learned that this is not the case.
"I was performing in Wuzhen at the time, and when I walked to that place, I really thought it was beautiful, and I decided to dance there temporarily. Liu Ni clarified in an interview with a reporter from the New Yellow River afterwards. Now, more than half a year has passed since the accident "became popular", and the reporter chatted with her again about her recent life and work.
After the turmoil: the trajectory of life has not changedPreviously, Liu Ni was very calm about all kinds of speculations and comments from the outside world. "That video is an impromptu modern dance for me, as a person who doesn't know how to dance, to see someone dancing on the street, in other words, I will also think that person may have some problems, and will also bring in some subjective thoughts. "I understand that there are misunderstandings and prejudices among those who don't understand dancing, but I don't mind." Dancing is something I love and I just want to keep dancing seriously. ”
Although the popularity of the video has brought Liu Ni a certain amount of attention, she has not changed the trajectory of her life because of this. She still insists on live streaming dance on short video platforms to share her dance world with fans. At the same time, she also said frankly, "Someone contacted me to do live broadcasts on some platforms, and I don't know what it is, I didn't deal with it anyway, I just want to dance seriously." ”
A friend of Liu Ni once revealed to the New Yellow River reporter that Liu Ni usually doesn't talk much, is very quiet, and when she can't perform, she often conducts a "lonely live broadcast" at night when no one is around, and the live broadcast content has always been very simple, say hello at the beginning, and then start dancing, no matter whether others praise or abuse, she just dances selflessly for an hour or two, dances to the fullest, and says good night in front of the camera, and goes off the air.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Liu Ni's dance journey began in her hometown in Gansu when she was three or four years old, and has continued to this day. After completing her studies in Lanzhou, she successfully joined the Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Theater and had the opportunity to become a professional Dunhuang dancer. However, just when her career prospects were bright, she made a surprising decision to give up her stable job and go to Beijing alone.
Face yourself: Stick to what you want to doThe video of Liu Ni dancing on the street unexpectedly went viral, which also attracted the attention of her mother. Liu Ni said, "Mom sees a little more negative comments, some people say that her daughter is mentally ill, living on the street or something, but she knows what kind of person her daughter is, and knows that it is nonsense, so she can understand." ”
In a conversation with the New Yellow River reporter, Liu Ni showed a firm personality. "My isolation and protection mechanism is relatively high, and what I want to do, no matter what others say, I will definitely do it. She told reporters again that when she danced on the street in Wuzhen, she just thought that the place was very beautiful, and she wanted to dance there temporarily, it was so simple. This thing is not a glorious thing, let alone a show-off, it just happened, and if she encounters such a suitable scene in the future, she will still dance on the street.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Talking about her current life and work status, Liu Ni revealed that although her life was briefly disturbed because of that video, she did not change her original plan. "Coincidentally, I decided in April that I wanted to leave the company in June and perform in Wuzhen in May. Liu Ni said that since July, she has mainly devoted herself to teaching art candidates, and has signed up for other dance courses in her spare time to broaden her knowledge in the field of dance.
Regarding the future, she said, "I don't have too many ideas, but I have to go to some projects, do some things, try them all out, and then make a decision." ”
Previously reported >>The barefoot "soul dancer" on the streets: impromptu dance is not "neurotic", she and the dance company behind her are very modern
Reporter: Wang Likui Editor: Sun Feifei Proofreader: Faye Wong