@ Wheelchair dancer, this is the "highlight moment" of rebirth!
Author: Wang Mingyuan
"Keep up with the rhythm", "Straight waist", "Pay attention to cooperation", "Pay attention to the posture of the hand"... Recently, the reporter walked into the Daguanyuan Theater in Yuquan District, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. With dynamic music, 6 wheelchair dancers were dancing with their partners Practice the dance moves repeatedly.
In the eyes of ordinary people, wheelchair dancers have to work harder to do a few simple hand dance moves.
This dance team is composed of 6 disabled dancers and 6 normal dancers. Seeing them cooperate tacitly on stage, it is hard to imagine that this dance team has only been established for 3 months.
Prior to this, the 6 disabled dancers had no dancing skills.
On June 16, 2021, the wheelchair dance team represented Inner Mongolia in the 11th National Paralympic Games and the 8th Special Olympics wheelchair dance competition, ushering in their "high light moment", and won the collective dance in the wheelchair dance finals. Runner-up, fifth in the mixed Latin dance pentath finals, and eighth in the mixed Latin dance three finals.
The picture shows a dancer in a wheelchair rehearsing with his teammates before the performance.
Photo by Liu Wenhua
Because dance dreams they get together
“We started preparations for the formation of a wheelchair dance team in April this year. The Inner Mongolia Disabled Persons’ Federation will select and send disabled players. After training with normal players, they will finally participate in the competition.” There are only more than two months left to participate in the Paralympic Games. At that time, Hao Xiulan, the president of the Inner Mongolia Dance Sports Association, was ordered to become the head coach of the wheelchair dance team.
The picture shows a dancer in a wheelchair rehearsing with his teammates before the performance.
Photo by Liu Wenhua
Tian Ying was the first to join the wheelchair dance team since she was cautiously dreaming of dancing.
Tian Ying was born in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. When she was 15 years old, a sudden traffic accident put her in a wheelchair.
When she saw the recruitment information for the wheelchair dance team, she was moved.
In April 2021, Tian Ying came to the training base of the wheelchair dance team, where she met teammates who also had the dream of dancing: Fang Na from Baotou, Inner Mongolia, who was paraplegic due to a car accident, and Li Guiying, whose lower limbs were paralyzed due to polio , Zhao Lihua, whose lower limbs were paralyzed due to spinal cord lesions, Liu Yi, whose legs were disabled due to accidental injuries, and Di Wenke, a young man born in the 1980s, whose legs were disabled.
Dance practice is so difficult, they are brave to chase their dreams
Because the disabled players generally lack the dance foundation and have lower limbs inconvenience, the daily training is very hard for them.
"These players in wheelchairs were very confused when they first came to the training camp. They couldn't even master the rhythm of listening to music," Hao Xiulan recalled.
"When I first came, the movements were very stiff, like doing radio gymnastics." Tian Ying still remembers the situation when he first joined the dance team.
The picture shows a group photo of the wheelchair dance team participating in the competition.
Photo by Liu Wenhua
The 70-day intensive practice puts a severe test on the players' body and mind.
"Due to high-intensity dance exercises, when we sleep at night, our arms hurt when we put them down. We can only put our arms up on a pillow and sleep." Tian Ying told reporters.
Even so, these 6 special dancers never thought of giving up.
In order not to "hold back" the team, they arrange additional exercises for themselves every day and guide each other in their movements.
Talking about the motivation to persist, Fang Na told reporters with tears in her tears that it was the love of her family that made her brave to pursue her dreams.
"I have a high paraplegia, and it is difficult to take care of myself in normal life. I can participate in the wheelchair dance team training with peace of mind because of the care of my lover." Fang Na's husband Jia Zhen consciously took charge of the logistics support of the entire wheelchair dance team. The team members said " Brother-in-law," Jia Zhen replied, and ran forward to help.
The feeling of dancing, let us get a new life
"On the stage, all the ears hear are music, and all the brain thinks about dance moves." Tian Ying told reporters that the moment when the Paralympic Games ended was her most free moment in a wheelchair for more than 20 years.
"I have been in a wheelchair for 10 years. I didn't expect that people in wheelchairs can dance like normal people. Dancing in a wheelchair makes me feel like I'm reborn." Fang Na, who was once ashamed of wearing strapless dance clothes, was also there. Perfect "blooming" on the stage.
The picture shows a dancer in a wheelchair with his teammates.
Photo by Liu Wenhua
"Our dance is not only the dream of the six of us, but also our desire to encourage the majority of disabled friends. I hope everyone can'come out', choose a direction that suits them, and realize the value of life." Wheelchair Said Di Wenke, a member of the dance team.