‘Most wonderful period in my life’: China street cleaner, 63, chases ballet-dancing boyhood dream, impressing social media
- Poverty prevented sanitation worker from pursuing love of art form
- Wife and children all support him but neighbours are often judgmental
An inspirational 63-year-old sanitation worker in China has captivated mainland social media by mastering the art of ballet to fulfil a boyhood dream.
Liu Ziqing had zero ballet experience when he started dancing a decade ago, but thanks to diligent study and assiduous practice he is now performing on stage alongside young professional dancers, state media outlet CCTV reported.
“The past decade has been the most wonderful period in my life because I picked up ballet and started following my dream,” Liu was quoted as saying.
The man said he has been interested in ballet since he was a little boy.
Back then, the film, The Red Detachment of Women, about a ballet show was popular nationwide. Liu said he watched it more than 10 times, such his love for the art form.
However, poverty prevented him from learning ballet, as he grew up in a poor family in a village near Baotou, the largest city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in northern China.
He became a farmer in his hometown and sometimes worked as a street cleaner.
A decade ago, aged 53, Liu decided to learn ballet: “I had been thinking of dancing all those years. One day, I saw a ballet basic training course on TV, which sparked the idea that I should try to learn to dance,” he said.
Liu practises in various locations, ranging from nearby farmland, roadsides, and the yard at his home. He sometimes sleeps in a leg press position to improve his strength.
His wife and children all support him, but his neighbours are often judgmental.
“They saw me practising and said, ‘You are mad. What’s the point of dancing at this old age? Why not live a normal life?’ I ignored them,” said Liu.
He said he is happy when dancing, and the practice has benefited his health.
“In the past, I had stomach problems. After dancing regularly over the past decade, the stomach issues have mostly gone away,” he said.
He also attended a class at Baotou Normal University.
“When I am in this class, I feel like those young students, as if I have become young again,” Liu said, adding: “I am now doing what I wanted to do when I was young.”
Shi Jianxing, a teacher at the university, said: “During basic skills lessons, many students clearly did not want to be there, but Liu was enjoying the lesson very much and was always smiling. His passion for ballet really moves me.”
Inspiring stories about people chasing their dreams frequently make headlines in China.
A former ballet dancer in Shanghai resumed his passion for the art after a nearly two-decade break. Videos of him practising in warehouses, garages, and outdoors went viral on social media in August.
