{"id":35341,"date":"2013-09-12T18:31:53","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T10:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chengduliving.com\/?p=35341"},"modified":"2013-11-04T18:02:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T10:02:22","slug":"foreign-dancers-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chengduliving.com\/foreign-dancers-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Dancers and Their Journey from Los Angeles to Chengdu"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is Gerran\u2019s first week in China. He has never been to Beijing or Shanghai; Chengdu is the first city that he has seen. Now he is on the highway riding to Meishan, a third-tier city an hour\u2019s distance from Chengdu, to teach a dance workshop.<\/p>\n

Gerran is not the only American choreographer in China these days. Chinese dance studios have been thriving, fueled by the attendance of young middle class Chinese students with disposable income and thirst for American dance culture. Popular contemporary Chinese choreography \u2013 the type featured in music videos, commercial events, and the majority of recreational dance classes \u2013 derives almost entirely from trends in the West, and studios that have been able to capitalize upon that Western cosmopolitanism have succeeded in the market.<\/p>\n

Gerran came to Chengdu from LA with another dancer, named Josh, who has been to China before. Last year Josh crisscrossed China with the Chinese pop star Amei, as a back up dancer in her tour production, and taught a series of workshops at the Chengdu studio Sinostage, which is currently hosting both he and Gerran.<\/p>\n

Mutual Benefit<\/h2>\n
\"Gerran<\/a>
Gerran X gives a group of girls an LA dance lesson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hosting international master classes has become increasingly frequent at fashionable studios across China. Studios like Sinostage in Chengdu, SDT and Team Invader in Beijing, Hip Hop Gang in Henan, and Diamond Freak in Guangzhou have all hosted foreign choreographers in recent months, generating buzz in a social mediascape full of Chinese youths sharing dance videos. Since Youtube is inaccessible to most Chinese, videos posted by dance studios on Chinese sites like Youku are some of the only glimpses into the world of American dance available to many aspiring local dancers.<\/p>\n

For American dancers visiting China, there are benefits as well. Established names – dancers who have choreographed routines for US pop stars, or appeared in in their music videos – can garner impressive hourly wages teaching master classes. Less well known dancers \u2013 those still rising through the cutthroat ranks of the US entertainment industry – can travel abroad for free, and make a healthy salary teaching while broadening their notoriety.<\/p>\n

Check out these two videos of Gerran and Josh’s classes below:<\/em><\/p>\n