This is a roaring train, and the teenagers are trying not to miss it

Wei Yi, a reporter for this magazine, sent from Danzhou, Hainan, and Zhou Jianping, editor of the [email protected]

One

On the third floor of the Sea Flower Island Sports Center, the lights are bright, and in one of the practice rooms, the dance teacher asks the people around him: "What time is it?" The person next to him replied, "10:30." "It's a dance class in the evening that will last until 1 a.m. The students of "Creation Camp 2021", living and training, are in this building, and they are making final preparations for the finals. Practice, and more, has been the norm for them for more than four months.

In the practice room, the trainees who follow the training of the dance teacher are from China, Japan, Thailand and other countries, and they will perform "The Appearance of a Teenager" in the finals. The title of the song is easy to attract the teenagers here, and when the song is selected in order before the finals, the team that chooses the song is the first to be full.

The recording of "Creation Camp 2021" in Danzhou, Hainan Province, has lasted for more than four months, and 90 students have entered the finals after three sequential releases. They will make a last-ditch effort for the 11 "group positions", except for Liluxiu from Russia. Rilu shu came to the creation camp, originally for the Japanese students Haneda Shotake and Kiuchi Yushin as Chinese teacher, but the director of the creation camp felt that he had a good image, and would Chinese, suggesting that he participate in it. He entered the camp with the idea of experiencing life, and this experience came to the finals. He firmly stated that he did not want to form a group. This is a phenomenon that has never been seen in the history of world variety shows, and a student who does not want to form a group reluctantly enters the finals because of the support of "bamboo shoots" (which can be understood as a bit of "damaged" fans). Lilusius made many of the statements of a program an exception, for example, I could not use the word "all" to summarize the desire of 25 students to form a group.

The Creation Camp has been doing this S+ grade variety show for four years. This time, unlike in the past three years, the trainees will form an "international boy band", and there are more international students than ever before. It's like making an attempt at globalization in a variety show, which some people call "the retrograde in the era of anti-globalization." Especially when the world is still in the midst of an epidemic, this is a difficult thing to do. At the door of the rehearsal room, you can hear the languages of different countries, and the translators are also working the night shift.

The station sisters waited day and night at the entrance of the sports center for a moment of appearance for the trainees, while the photographer and I waited at the door of the practice room for their recess, ready to take photos of Zando, Li Maru and Liu Zhang, who lived in the 405 dormitory. I interviewed them that day. I am no stranger to this place, a month ago, as an invited media, I met many students in a media meeting room that was temporarily "converted" from a practice room. Some female media friends in the same industry, because they saw these fiery and handsome students, and even some "gaffes", the choreographers on the side reminded them to be "elegant and dignified".

For more than four months, every episode of "Creation Camp 2021" broadcast will quickly occupy the hot search on Weibo, and many students have become the topic of young people's tea and dinner. The oldest of these trainees was born in 1993 and the youngest in 2003. Most people were born around 2000, and they are in the moment when they are about to enter the social stage, and in front of them, there is a real stage, and this generation of young people will gradually be seen. What kind of generation will they be? What are the similarities and differences between them and the younger generations before them? That's my curiosity.

On Sea Flower Island, roaring machines weave through the architectural complexes of national styles, which are like a microcosm of the world. The studios and sports centers under the night sky seem to be UFOs leading to the unknown world.

On the first stage, the most surprising thing was the students from Japan, Zaanda and Ritsumaru. In particular, Zando, the action described by the student Han Peiquan as a large gyro, is breathtaking. He got a full ticket. The only one vote away is the Force Pill. Their dance level is believed to have broken through the studio ceiling. Yu Yang, because of a song "Teenager", makes people think that he is young and old, although he does not think so. Yu Yang was able to have this performance opportunity because Liu Zhang, who performed in the same group as him, said to the teachers on the stage, "The first time I heard Yu Yang sing, I almost fell to my knees. ”

After the first stage, 90 trainees officially entered the camp. Zando, Li Maru, Liu Zhang, and Yu Yang stayed in the quadruple room of the sports center, dormitory 405. Four people come from two countries, two of whom are super strong in dance ability, one is rapper (strong rap ability), and the other is vocal (strong singing ability), they have different personalities, but they have a certain temperament that blends like water. I'm interested in this dorm, probably for the same reason. They are a mirror in the creation camp, with the mirror and appearance of a teenager.

Creation Camp 405 dormitory roommates: Li Maru, Liu Zhang, Yu Yang, Zando

Before the finals of "Creation Camp 2021", the members of "The Appearance of a Teenager" were practicing pictures/reporters of this magazine

Two

Between the two training sessions, Liu Zhang sat in front of me again. The first time I met Liu Zhang, I was in a media group interview a month ago. He and his teammates pushed the door in, faced a table of food, and "unceremoniously" ate the mustard-smeared sushi. Liu Zhang looks like he has a "no bullying" face, but he has said more than once that he has experienced school violence at school. He reflects on the remarks he once dissed (accused) others on the Internet, which is to inflict invisible violence on others. During the first stage test at the creation camp, he sang his own original "Apology Letter". "Start with diss, please let me diss me finish." His affectionate and sincere rap captivated the audience. This is something rare on the stage of idols. In him, the elements of sensibility and rationality are very strong.

After eating sushi, Liu Zhang talked about his call with his mother Chinese New Year's Eve. When the other trainees were in tears, he talked to his mother like a debriefing. "Actually, I have a very thick shell on my body, and I don't open up to my family or others."

Zhang Liu is a sophomore in mathematics and economics at New York University. He usually spends a lot of time with his family, and he does not feel special about these months of parting. His original intention for the future was to do business or work in data science. When he was in college, he received attention for his rap work uploaded to the Internet. He spent his summer vacation back to China to participate in the rap variety show "Rap New Generation", and his song "Reverse Road" made people think that he was a person who would cut himself and his family apart. To some extent, he showed ambivalence. Because of the truth, he dared to speak up. And because of his kindness, he had to find a balance for the result of outspokenness. To outsiders, he was honest enough, but he still emphasized the thick shell.

In the 405 dormitory, Liu Zhang can sometimes put down his shells. But this place seems to be "Truman's world", and there are cameras everywhere. The place where the teenagers often chatted was the toilet on the third floor of the sports center, which was a complex of toilets, shower rooms and changing rooms, and there were no cameras where they could talk about some topics between the boys.

In the practice room prepared for the finals, Liu Zhang's expression was more tense. In this group, Zando, Li Maru, and Liu Yu all learned dance from an early age, and they were the best among their peers, and many movements, they would watch it once. They are more likely to cooperate with other students, and sometimes, they are like teachers.

Three

In Li Maru's long-term self-perception, he is a person who has no self-confidence and is very shy. Li Maru admired Liu Zhang very much, and he felt that Liu Zhang was the complete opposite of himself, "He speaks very straight, unhappy is unhappy, good is good, is a person who does not lie." I would love to be that person. ”

In a testimonial letter, Li Maru compares Liu Zhang to a mirror. In Japanese, "mirror" means "role model.". As he recalled these events, Ritsumaru was sitting in front of a row of mirrors in the studio's rest room. Before and after him, Liu Zhang and Zando had both sat in his seat, and they might have looked at each other as mirrors. Dormitory 405 is a model dormitory for the Creation Camp. Of the four people in the dormitory, three made it to the finals.

Yu Yang, who has left, helps Li Maru learn to sing and Chinese, while Li Maru teaches him to dance and Japanese. Many of the camp students are nostalgic for this, and one of the things they value is the atmosphere in which they compete with each other but try to help others. Selfishness is not welcome here. Everyone participates in creating a sense of security in collective life and gaining a sense of security.

In Li Maru's view, the students who lived in the 405 had a stronger personality than those in the other rooms. "Zando is a very cheerful person, and he is in charge of the atmosphere in our room." Zando and Li Maru have known each other for many years, and in the same company, Zando mainly does accompaniment dance, and Li Maru does choreography. Zando felt that people like Ritsumaru were rare among Japanese people.

In the dance profession, Li Maru has long been known. Ling Xiao, a student of the Creation Camp, had previously taken a class at Li Maru in Korea. Wu Hai went to the class in the Li Maru Dance Studio, but it was not Li Maru who taught directly. Wu Hai has said many times that if Zando and Li Maru did not come to participate, he himself might be the strongest "dance burden" in the creation camp. On the stage of the second performance, Li Maru and Wu Hai performed an original dance together. Li Maru said to Wu Hai, you should not just be a dancer, if you change it here, you will be more like an artist. Speaking of this, Li Maru was suddenly a little embarrassed: "Ah, sorry, a little bit of that, as if he was saying a great suggestion." Immediately after, he said the advice he had given Xu Shaolan, he felt that Xu dancing was very powerful, but he could dance in a more relaxed way.

In this interview, Ritsumaru speaks very fluently, which is his area of expertise. A dance teacher at the Creation Camp told him that he had taken his classes before. "Now, this teacher is teaching me." He became embarrassed again. He had a smile on his face all the time. Whether on or off stage, the smile is difficult to disappear.

"Will your generation of Japanese be different from the previous generation of Japanese?" I asked for the force pill.

"The mother's generation, or the people of the earlier generation, will emphasize the Japanese element more, and will say how we are in Japan." For younger people, they will value or have become more international. "We can now buy cheaper tickets, fly around the world, feel the culture of other countries, or introduce more international elements into the daily life of Japan." Today's young Japanese people are more cheerful and free, and they will express their ideas more clearly. ”

"Do you think about what life means?"

"For me, I feel that my life from the moment I was born, like a movie, the plot has been set, I just follow this plot step by step, so although there will be a lot of setbacks and unhappiness in my life, even very frustrated times, I will feel that this is because my fate has been set, and I can overcome it, so those trials will come to me." 」 Because of this, it is all the more important that we should complete such a test. Li Maru's answer seemed to match his smile very well.

The Creation Camp Tour is a test that Li Maru accepts. The company asked him: If China wants to hold such a program, do you want to participate in it? Li Maru did some research and found that this may be exactly what he wanted to do now. "I've been working as a dancer all year round, and I'm better than a lot of people, but I don't get the evaluation that I think is corresponding, and I have some doubts about that." He came here to wonder if what he had done over the years was correct.

From top to bottom: Li Maru, Liu Zhang, Zando

Photo/ Reporter of this magazine Big Food

Four

Similar to Li Maru's idea, Zamta came from Japan to participate in the show, but also hoped to change. He doesn't quite understand that he has won multiple world championships, "but maybe only 100 fans." ”

The company did not expect too much from his journey to the Creation Camp. "They thought I would be back after the first round." That didn't happen, and from the very beginning of the Creation Camp, he was the "King of Support" (Best Performer).

"When did you learn that gyro-like movement?" I'm curious.

"It's a move I learned when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school." Zando said, "This action comes from a brazilian kung fu. In Brazilian Kung Fu, it is also a relatively difficult action. When I was in elementary school, for half a year, I practiced this movement every day. ”

Zando used this action when he won the world championship. "For me, it's a must-do." This is a brazilian war dance Capoeira movement, which is often used in house dances. Zando's house dance earned him the world championship. At the age of 17, Zando broke the record for the youngest ever champion in the competition in "Street Dance Kemp Europe" and won three world titles in the competition.

The world championship in the creation camp in 2021 was seen by more people. Zando and Ritsumaru became foreign players with huge fans overnight, and they have always been in the top few of the "group positions".

Zando has an athletic temperament, and many of his dance moves are as difficult as competitive sports. He also said that he used to play in competitions and thought more about "winning". "Before, my dream was to be a world champion, first place. I think winning is the most important thing. After winning, I found that the support of friends and family was very important. Zando felt that this was the greatest meaning of life. He raised his hand and showed me the two rings he was wearing, which were given to him by family and friends. "Now, I have my founder."

"Founder" is a dedicated word for the creation camp, which can be understood as "fan". "Founder support" translates to "fan support".

Serenity, as the founder's representative (i.e., mentor), has a classic saying in the creation camp, "The interesting thing about this stage is that we represent us, they (trainees) represent them (cadets), and the outside audience represents the outside audience." "By now, the students have discovered that the audience (the founder) outside is the one who plays a decisive role. Their strength is large enough to push Liluxiu to the 10th place "group position" in the order release. They can also have Liluxiu's photos fill the street lamp advertising space on Haihua Island.

On a billboard on Haihua Island No. 2 Island, next to Li Luxiu's large vertical photograph, the words printed were "New Group, Grand And Pushed". This is left by the original real estate advertisement, and for Liluxiu, it is the last thing he wants to see. In the location of his photo, which used to be a long time ago, the banner that hung up read: "Welcome home owners." "Going home" is what Liluxiu is looking forward to day and night during this time, not "forming a group".

"I'm a fan of Lilusius," Zando said with a laugh, "and we often talk together. I asked him if you really didn't want to stay in Creation Camp. He said, I really don't want to, I want to go back to my original life. He told me he was very worried. The first was the fear of forming a group, in which case the next two years would have to accept group activities. The second concern is whether he will be able to return to his old life even if he leaves here now. I think he's under a lot of pressure. ”

Liluxiu originally shared a dormitory with Ukrainian cadet Andy, who left after the first pick was released. Some students asked Li Luxiu, this time the release of the position, Andy's departure is not the saddest for you? Lilusius replied that I was most sad that I had not left.

Before that pick-up, I met Lilusio in the media room. He explained to me again how he understood the "F" class: "F" means "Freedom", and he wants his life to be free, while the life of an idol, he thinks, is not free.

In the creation camp, the high to low classes are A, B, C, and F, and after three sequential releases, there are now only A and B students. The "F" class that Lilusius aspired to no longer existed.

"Most people come in groups, and if the fans really send Lilu xiu into the group, it's not a funny thing, but it makes me think that other people's dreams are so worthless." 」 Liu Zhang said.

"How do you recognize the great power of founders?"

"I wonder why I had to decide Lilusius's life. This is a life that Lilusio does not want. "Liu Zhang mentioned Lai Yaoxiang, who was promoted from Class F to Class A in the mentor rating, but he left when the first pick was released." I still remember when Lai Yaoxiang left, saying, "Am I not trying hard enough?" It's hard for me to answer this question because I feel like he's tried hard enough, it's just that the goddess of fate hasn't taken care of him yet. ”

Liu Zhang also mentioned Yu Gengyin and Bo Yuan, who worked hard for many years for this opportunity to form a group. He watched the video recorded by his family and friends to the trainees, and the video of Boyuan's parents touched him, "His parents opposed him to taking this road for so many years, he came here for this dream, and now he is stuck in 12." At that time, I heard the rankings of Boyuan and Liluxiu, and I laughed, not happily, but felt that the world was too interesting. ”

Creation Camp staged for the third performance of "Bi" member

Five

After the second release, Yu Yang left the creation camp. He is a senior at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music and is preparing his graduation thesis. His thesis intends to write "The Inspiration and Influence of Variety Shows on Contemporary Chinese Pop Singing Students."

Two years ago, Yu Yang held an art examination training class outside the classroom. Because of the epidemic, this class is difficult to maintain, and he has lost a lot of money. At that time, in the class, he would discuss with the students, why study art? Why go to art schools? "They told me it was just like it. I said, have you ever considered using this as a job bowl in the future? A lot of people don't think about it. This circle is very difficult, you have the ability to be seen, you have the ability may not be seen, at this time, what should you do? "Yu Yang also seems to be asking himself this question." I went to the creation camp and saw many students leave, the mood was very uncomfortable, I especially did not like, but this is the market, there is no way to do things. ”

Born in 1999, Yu Yang did nothing when he first went to college, and had a feeling of mixed eating and drinking. He studied pop singing and didn't know what he was going to do in the future. In that case, he wrote "O Boy." He does not want to express the so-called youth and old age, he wants the listener to have his opinions and thoughts.

He told me in detail what the lyrics of "Boy" were trying to express. "Life is short for decades, and we try not to live as a manifestation of ignorance. I'm actually very young, but I think about these things. ”

"What is the meaning of life?" I want to know the answer for everyone in the 405 dormitory. In my opinion, "teenagers" must think in "life" in order to establish their meaning.

"I have my own understanding of life." Yu Yang's answer was very quick, "Life is actually a process of evolution. It's full of tangles. When encountering ups and downs, or difficulties, you will always struggle between thinking and not wanting. After stepping forward, there may be a feeling of success, on the other hand, it may bring you a sense of frustration. Everyone is born lonely, many things, no matter how you talk to others, in the end it is you who digests yourself. ”

The third floor of the Sea Flower Island Sports Center is still brightly lit, and the digital electronic clock shows that midnight is approaching. When Zando, Li Maru, and Liu Zhang went to the toilet between classes, they took time for us to take a group of photos. After just a few shutters, Liu Zhang kept saying, "Teacher, we still have to continue the class." "The Creation Camp Finals are like a roaring train, and the teenagers are trying not to miss it.

During this time, Liu Zhang would repeatedly listen to the songs he had heard before, and those he had not understood in the past were now deeply touched. Right now, his favorite song is Jony J's "Don't Guess." There is a passage in the song, as if it is a portrayal of the teenagers of Haihua Island at this moment:

The lights won't turn on for me at any time

Yes or no

I don't want to guess yet

Who can really see clearly

Where is the destination

How to group the puzzle of the future

Take each step first

(Meng Yiyi, a reporter of this magazine, also contributed to this article)