Wei Caiqi’s ‘cruel’ New Year gala dance sparks controversy

A 15-year-old dancer who twirled for four hours onstage as part of China’s televised New Year gala has ignited controversy online, with some criticising her performance as “cruel”.

Wei Caiqi, the niece of Chinese dancing star Yang Liping, was the designated “time girl” at the annual China Central Television (CCTV) gala, which aired on January 30.

Clad in a flowing white gown, Wei spun nonstop on a special stage to represent “the passing of time and the changing of seasons”, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Many people took to China’s popular social networks to raise concerns before, during and after the performance.

“What else can it be called except cruel?” wrote one user on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. “For me, any sense of beauty has been completely replaced by a feeling of disgust.”

“A 15-year-old girl spinning there for four hours, to this I can only say it is sick, a perversion of values,” wrote another.