RSSNewsletterSiteMapFeedback

Home · Weather · Forum · Learning Chinese · Jobs · Shopping
Search This Site
China | International | Business | Government | Environment | Olympics/Sports | Travel/Living in China | Culture/Entertainment | Books & Magazines | Health
Home / International / International -- Cultural Sidelines Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Chinese woman dancing to Indian beat all her life
Adjust font size:

Dressed in an Indian gown and with a red spot on her forehead, Jin Shanshan sat cross-legged on a small Indian carpet. In front of her on the ground lay a Talam, a wooden instrument used as the metronome in India. She chanted "ta ta ta" as she struck out beats on the Talam. She watched a girl quickly stamping her feet and dancing different poses. Once in a while, Jin stood up and demonstrated to her student the right hand gestures and facial expressions.

 

"This is how a dance class goes in India. Teachers sit and beat the Talam most of the time, except that they need to correct students' movements," Jin says.

 

Twice a week, the Beijinger teaches an-hour's Indian dance at a popular Indian restaurant, which is run by several Chinese. And an owner is one of her two students.

 

Though not a professional dancer herself, Jin possessed a formidable understanding of classic Indian dances.

 

Jin developed a love for Indian dance as a child. When other girls were busy playing dolls, she used to wrap her mother's scarves around her head and body. Then she would imitate Indian performances in front of a mirror.

 

"One reason that I wanted to learn Indian dance is because people kept saying that I had dark complexion and big eyes and looked like characters in old Indian movies when I was in kindergarten," she says.

 

In 1983, Jin was enrolled in a children's art center opened by the prestigious Chinese Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, where she started six-year's strict discipline of Indian dances.

 

Every weekend, she would ride an hour on a bicycle from her home to the center. "I never missed a class. I dreamt of dancing and singing on the stage one day," she says.

 

After graduating from high school, Jin was admitted to Peking University and majored in Hindi and Indian culture. She was sent to India to further her study of Hindi at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 1994. "But for me, it was a rare chance to touch the real Indian dance," she says.

 

Upon the recommendation of Zhang Jun, an esteemed expert in Indian dance, Jin studied under Indian dance master Birju Maharaj for a year.

 

Later she found it difficult to cast aside her passion for Indian dance even when she held an enviable job in a foreign company and earned a considerable salary. She quit the job and went to India in 1998 where she became the only Chinese student of Leela Samson, another Indian dance master.

 

Into just months she completed the courses which ordinary Indian students would take four years to finish. She practiced from morning to night, constantly scraping her hands on the 1.8m ceiling of her rented flat.

 

Eventually her dedication paid off when she successfully held a solo dance show at the end of her studies. "It was a very important ceremony in India, which meant that I had completed my study."

 

From then on, Jin traveled widely across India. Annually, she stays with Leela Samson for a month and continues her exploration of Indian dance and culture. And her family has built an intimate relationship with the master.

 

Jin has also witnessed the remarkable changes in exchanges between the neighboring countries.

 

"I remember during my first trip in India, the most-asked questions of locals were like, 'do you have five-star hotels in China?' And 'are Chinese women still feet binding?'" When I strolled on New Delhi's streets in 1998, I was often mistakenly recognized as Japanese or South Korean. I told people I came from China, and they all looked amazed. There were few Chinese students there," she says.

 

But Jin notes that since 2002, more and more Chinese companies and self-sponsored Chinese students have arrived in India. Many of her former Indian schoolmates at JNU now work for travel agencies, guiding an increasing population of Chinese tourists in recent years.

 

(China Daily January 15, 2008)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Username   Password   Anonymous
 


China Archives
Related >>
- A good opportunity to strengthen ties
- Dance Like a Bollywood Diva
Most Viewed >>
-China investigates Japanese food poisoning incident
-FM: Taiwan, Nansha Islands all Chinese territory
-AU summit opens in Ethiopian capital
-20 killed in blast at fireworks factory
-2008, a year of ambition, attractiveness for China
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies
SiteMap | About Us | RSS | Newsletter | Feedback

Copyright ? China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-88828000 京ICP證 040089號

主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲午夜精品在线| 男生女生差差差很痛| 欧美aaaaa| 噜噜嘿在线视频免费观看| 中文字幕人妻中文AV不卡专区| 波多野结衣大战5个黑人| 国产免费一区二区三区免费视频| 99精品国产在热久久| 日本三级在线观看免费| 亚洲白色白色在线播放| 亚洲成av人片在线观看www | 51影院成人影院| 成品煮伊在2021一二三久 | 韩国三级大全久久电影| 国产麻豆精品一区二区三区V视界 国产麻豆精品久久一二三 | 欧美日韩你懂的| 再深点灬舒服灬在快点视频| 国产精品你懂得| 在线a亚洲视频播放在线观看 | 黑人巨大两根69gv| 在线中文字幕视频| jlzzjlzz亚洲jzjzjz| 无翼日本全彩漫画大全全彩| 亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码a| 男人都懂的网址在线看片| 国产乱子伦一级毛片| 中国高清xvideossex| 夫妇交换性3中文字幕| 久久久久九九精品影院| 欧美videosdesexo肥婆| 亚洲国产精品成人午夜在线观看| 百合h肉动漫无打码在线观看| 午夜精品久久久久久99热| 黄a大片av永久免费| 国产精品爽爽va在线观看无码| 一级日韩一级欧美| 日韩A∨精品日韩在线观看| 亚洲国产精品成人综合色在线婷婷| 毛片免费视频在线观看| 农村胖肥熟口味重| 精品午夜寂寞黄网站在线|