Dancing youth The Group was formally established on December 8,2003. "Twenty-One not only means we have 21 dancers but also represents that we are a new blood in the 21th century," Wu explains. Indeed ,the private-funded
dance group like the Twenty-One is an emerging thing in China, especially in the inland city. Along with the development of China's cultural industry, the marketization gradually deepens into the field of art performance, and the private-owned dance groups gradually emerged as the mainstream in place of the state-owned ensembles. To keep pace with the tendency, Wu became a pioneer and established his own dance group after retiring from his post as vice principal of Sichuan Art Academy, a government-run art school. "Everything was hard in the beginning. We also experienced a lot of difficulties to get our share in the
performance market. We tried our best to establish our image," Wu said, "but nowadays we have gained reputation." The short interview with Wu was interrupted many times by telephones from his clients for ordering the group's performances. Because of the tight schedule, he gad to decline some orders. Wu is a man with perseverance. "I began to write articles of
Dancing for the city's newspapers from 1978. till 1995, I had earned a total of more than 111,000 RMB for my contributions, which had been invested in setting up my own group." It is his persistence that leads the group to today's achievement. According to Wu, just half of this
year the number of their shows doubled that of the whole year of previous year. "This month we are invited to participate in the large-scale tour performance for the 70 the anniversary of the triumph of the Long March. Although it's a mom-profit performance organized by government, we still would like to participate for strengthening ties with the government and bearing our social responsibility. Meanwhile, our young
girls also get a good chance to know the history." Captain of the group Tang Yijia, a 19 year-old girl and major
dancer of the group, joined in the group soon after she graduated from Sichuan Art Academy three years ago. "I feel I was born to dance. I like nothing except dance," Tang expressed her passion for dancing. "chose to join in the Twenty-One Girls Dance group because I found my world here. Here I never stop dancing and my basic skills and my understanding of dancing are improve greatly." "She is an excellent dancer," Wu seemed not to spare his praise for the captain. To adapt to the
market demand, the group should rehearse diverse dance items, which make all the dancers accumulate plenty of experience, "The dance items we performed are countless," a dancer of the group said, "generally speaking, we all prefer to the new choreographed items." The group is mow engaged in rehearsing a new dance for a performance on September 25th. "We are rehearsing all the days. Besides, we also have to vontinue the tour performance from one place to another. It's back-braking, but we are sill young to stand tiredness and injuries," Tang said. Every dancer must face the problems caused by aging, and the girls are no exception, But their enthusiasm to dance makes them insist. "We chose dance, willing to devote our youth to our group. We try to make every performance successful." That is the common voice of the girls of the group. Since being a dancer, Wu has paid much attention to his appearance. During the interview, he kept a graceful gesture all the time. "I also care about the image of my dance group," he explained, "we always give our audiences a good impression so that a lot of audiences become our clients." To perform in foreign countries is a good chance to promote the group and helpful for its market expansion. Therefore, Wu is expecting more performances abroad. "This is my future goal. I wish to shape the Group a Chinese brand towards the international market." Wu and his girls are confident of future despite various difficulties. The telephone rang at the end of the interview, telling the group to start a tour to Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture next morning. Bon Voyage to Mr. Wu and the young girls.
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