Sunday, September 23, 2012

Dancing and Other Things 8/18/20




The Chinese have a fondness for group activities.  They also have a fondness for what some may consider to be “strange activities.”  Unfortunately in Shanghai there is not very much room for group activities or for “strange activities” for that matter.  Because of this, any open spot is fair game.  And by open spot I mean just that, spot.  On the sidewalks and in the parks you will find people doing any number of things from Tai Chi to jumping rope.  From practicing nunchucks to singing in a choir.  From flying kites to swinging whips around.  The list goes on.  Badminton.  Sword dancing.  Punching Trees.  Hanging their pet birds from trees.  Slapping themselves. At just about any hour of the day (or night) you will find these things.  However the most prominent thing seems to be dancing.  Any kind of dancing you can think of you will find.  From huge groups doing Chinese dance to a few couples doing salsa and even one or two couples ballroom dancing.  And as previously mentioned, this can happen anywhere.  While walking along East Nanjing Road (one of the busiest areas of Shanghai) on a Friday night, just off to the side of the biggest Apple store I have ever seen, tucked away in a little nook, was about 50 women line dancing away and front of everyone.  It looked like a flash mob you see on Youtube...  but it wasn’t.  China is just like that.   

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