Chongqing- As one of the city’s most expected cultural events in 2020, the 1^st “Dancing with Chongqing” International Street Dance Competition, which aims to become a top-notch street dance brand in China, will be held in Jiangbei District from Dec. 11 to 17, according to press briefing of the Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission on Tuesday.

Xia Rui (L-3), secretary-general of the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, Zhu Mao (R-3), deputy director of the Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission, attend the press briefing.

“Dancing with Chongqing” is a series of cultural activities, including a street dance training camp, an international street dance competition, an avant-garde youth exchange forum, an urban fashion flash show, and the 2020 China Street Dance Gala. These events will help the young and burgeoning city of Chongqing make high strides in the direction of becoming a “City of Fashion.”

With “Dancing with Chongqing” as the main theme, the competition has two separate categories for children and adult contestants. It includes the four basic street dance genres of Locking, Popping, Breaking, and Hip-Hop. Special training camps and discussion forums will also be provided as an exchange platform for national top dancers and local enthusiasts during the event's peak.

“Hopefully, in the nearest future, when people want to see some of the finest street dance performances, they would come to Chongqing,” said Zhu Mao, deputy director of the Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission, at the press briefing. “We welcome all domestic and international street dance-related companies to settle down here in Chongqing as the booming industry becomes more influential.”

Local artists perform the Fire Dragon Dance in Chongqing's Tongliang District.

Chongqing is a city with a profound history of dancing traditions, ranging from the commonly seen “Baba” square dance, which has deeply integrated into citizen’s daily lives, especially for the older generation, to the national-level intangible cultural heritages of the Tongliang Dragon Dance, the High Platform Lion Dance, the Youyang Hand-Waving Dance, and Bullfighting.

It all goes to show just how deep-rooted and diversified are Chongqing’s dancing traditions. It will serve as a vast source pool for local street dancers to take inspiration from and blend the urban energy and vitality of street dance to Chongqing people's innate passion and enthusiasm.

Xia Rui, secretary-general of the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, said that “What I hope to see most [at the street dance competition] is for local contestants to bring Chongqing’s profound history and humanity into their choreography, using world language to tell the China story.”

To ensure the professionalism, authority, and equitability of the competition, and to bring the audience a pleasant watching experience, the organizing committee invited first-class domestic dancers such as Han Yu and Yang Kai, seasonal champions of the hit reality TV show, Street Dance of China.

A scene from the Zhejiang arena of the 2019 World Dance Game. Photo provided by the Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Committee.

“We aim to build the event into a national and even international brand for street dance competition by providing professional and amateur dancers an excellent exchange platform,” added Xia. “While at the same time, Chongqing will emerge as the country’s first cultural industry base for dancing arts.”

The “Dancing with Chongqing” International Street Dance Competition will be organized by the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, and the Chongqing Performance Co., Ltd., sponsored by the Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission, and the Jiangbei District People’s Government, and under the guidance of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s public service department, and the China Dancers Association.