Elderly Chinese have traditionally lived with, and been looked after by, their children. (Photo : Reuters)
Middle-aged and elderly people in China, majority of which are women, love to dance their blues away. They can be seen in squares, parks and public spaces dancing all the time. While they do so because dancing for them is a fun activity, the Chinese government is now urging all elderly people to get on board this dancing habit to become more fit and healthy.
Damas or elderly women in China have become quite popular across the world for their love of dancing. In April 2014, photos uploaded on Sina Weibo showcased damas dancing their hearts out at the Paris Louvre Museum, garnering worldwide attention.
After two months, Chinese middle-aged and elderly women struck again, dancing to their hearts' content at the Red Square in Moscow. They drew quite a crowd, including the local police.
The Chinese government wants them not to dance for fun but for health now. Sports and cultural authorities in China established 12 choreographed dances on March 23 that would suit all types of dama dancers, from beginners to experts.
The dance routines were created by expert dancers and fitness trainers forming an expert panel called on by the sports and cultural heads to head this project.
"We have selected folk music, Latin dance music, and catchy pop tunes to accompany the dances," Wang Guangcheng, a fitness instructor, shared to the Global Times.
Some changes were made on the dance routines that damas have been accustomed to under this program, but they will remain, nonetheless, interesting.
"The strange and inelegant gestures when I've arranged square dances have been replaced with more conventional and standard ones in the officially recommended fitness dances," said Wang.
