From big cities to small towns…
Chinese Public Square Dance has become a huge phenomenon among “older” people across China.
Why?
I asked a group of enthusiastic square dancers to share their thoughts...
Press play to practise your Mandarin listening ability and find out what they said:
Interview Dialogue Breakdown
Angel:
叔叔，你好！
shū shū, nǐ hǎo！
Hello, uncle!
怎么称呼你?
zěn me chēng hū nǐ？
How should I address you?
Teacher Gao:
我姓高。
wǒ xìng gāo.
My last name is Gao.
喊我高老师就可以。
hǎn wǒ gāo lǎo shī jiù kě yǐ.
Just call me Teacher Gao.
Angel:
高老师，好！
gāo lǎo shī, hǎo！
Hello, Teacher Gao.
你们经常来这里跳广场舞吗？
nǐ men jīng cháng lái zhè lǐ tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ ma？
Do you guys often come and dance Public Square Dance here?
Teacher Gao:
是的！我们经常到这里跳广场舞。
shì de！ wǒ men jīng cháng dào zhè lǐ tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
Yes! We often come and dance Public Square Dance here.
而且是几乎每个星期五个晚上，
ér qiě shì jǐ hū měi gè xīng qī wǔ gè wǎn shàng，
And pretty much five nights per week,
都在这跳广场舞。
dōu zài zhè tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
we all come and dance Public Square Dance here.
Angel:
很健康。
hěn jiàn kāng.
It's really healthy.
那我问一下，你们通常跳什么舞蹈？
nà wǒ wèn yī xià， nǐ men tōng cháng tiào shén me wǔ dǎo？
Well... May I ask you what kinds of dance you guys dance?
Teacher Gao:
我们通常都是，跳一般是民族舞蹈，这是一个。
wǒ men tōng cháng dōu shì， tiào yī bān shì mín zú wǔ dǎo， zhè shì yī gè.
We usually do Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, this is one type.
第二，跳广场舞。
dì èr， tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
The second type of dance we do is Public Square Dance.
广场舞，
guǎng chǎng wǔ，
The type of Public Square Dance we do...
我们今年做是以全国推广的广场舞为主。
wǒ men jīn nián zuò shì yǐ quán guó tuī guǎng de guǎng chǎng wǔ wèi zhǔ.
We mainly do the Public square dance which is promoted nationwide this year.
全国推广十二套广场舞。
quán guó tuī guǎng shí èr tào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
Twelve Public Square Dance routines were promoted nationwide.
我们已经跳了四套全国推广的广场舞。
wǒ men yǐ jīng tiào le sì tào quán guó tuī guǎng de guǎng chǎng wǔ.
We have already done four of them.
因为大概深受我们中老年人的喜爱。
yīn wèi dà gài shēn shòu wǒ men zhōng lǎo nián rén de xǐ ài.
Because it is probably popular among middle-aged and older people.
它的歌曲好听。
tā de gē qū hǎo tīng.
The songs are good.
舞蹈比较好跳，比较适合我们中老年人活动。
wǔ dǎo bǐ jiào hǎo tiào， bǐ jiào shì hé wǒ men zhōng lǎo nián rén huó dòng.
It's good to dance, and it's a good fitness activity for middle-aged people to do.
Angel:
非常好！
fēi cháng hǎo！
That's great!
我想问一下就是...
wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià jiù shì ...
I just want to ask...
为什么广场舞会这么受大家的欢迎？
wèi shén me guǎng chǎng wǔ huì zhè me shòu dà jiā de huān yíng？
Why is the Public Square Dance so popular?
Teacher Gao:
广场舞一般是非常适合我们，
guǎng chǎng wǔ yī bān shì fēi cháng shì hé wǒ men，
The Public Square Dance is generally very suitable for us,
特别是中老年人大众。
tè bié shì zhōng lǎo nián rén dà zhòng.
Especially for middle-aged and elder people.
他们的身体...
tā men de shēn tǐ...
Their bodies...
身体这个锻炼的方式。
shēn tǐ zhè gè duàn liàn de fāng shì.
The way it trains their bodies.
而很活泼，非常简单。
ér hěn huó pō, fēi cháng jiǎn dān.
And it is very lively and very simple.
而且音乐也非常优美。
ér qiě yīn yuè yě fēi cháng yōu měi.
And the music is very beautiful.
就是民族音乐唱出来的。
jiù shì mín zú yīn yuè chàng chū lái de.
It's folk music.
大众流行的这种音乐跳的。
dà zhòng liú xíng de zhè zhǒng yīn yuè tiào de.
It's popular (folk) music that we dance to.
特别是凤凰传奇，他们...
tè bié shì fèng huáng chuán qí, tā men...
Especially the "Phoenix Legend", they...
这个歌唱一种广场舞。
zhè gè gē chàng yī zhǒng guǎng chǎng wǔ.
They sing that type of Public Square Dance songs.
很深受我们全国中老年人的喜欢。
hěn shēn shòu wǒ men quán guó zhōng lǎo nián rén de xǐ huān.
It's really popular among middle-aged and elder people in China.
Angel:
还有我想问一下，
hái yǒu wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià,
And I want ask you...
就是你们大家是怎么聚在一起跳舞的，谁组织的？
jiù shì nǐ men dà jiā shì zěn me jù zài yī qǐ tiào wǔ de, shuí zǔ zhī de?
How do you all get together to dance, -- who organizes it?
Teacher Gao:
我们大家是自发的。
wǒ men dà jiā shì zì fā de.
All of us are spontaneous.
大家都愿意，都愿意跳广场舞。
dà jiā dōu yuàn yì, dōu yuàn yì tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
Everyone wants to dance in the square...
都是自发地，自愿地在一起，组合在一起。
dōu shì zì fā de， zì yuàn de zài yī qǐ， zǔ hé zài yī qǐǔ.
We group together spontaneously and voluntarily.
我们在一起2008年开始都跳...这个广场舞，民族舞蹈。
wǒ men yǐ jīng tiào le sì tào quán guó tuī guǎng de guǎng chǎng wǔ dǎo.
We have been doing Public Square Dance, Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance since 2008.
跳得比较早的。
tiào de bǐ jiào zǎo de.
We started dancing quite early.
然后原来是专跳民族舞蹈为主。
rán hòu yuán lái shì zhuān tiào mín zú wǔ dǎo wèi zhǔ.
And we first mainly did Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance.
我们2008年开始跳广场舞。
wǒ men 2008 nián kāi shǐ tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ.
We started doing Public Square Dance in 2008.
大概到2012，13年，广场舞兴起来了。
dà gài dào 2012，13 nián， guǎng chǎng wǔ xìng qǐ lái le.
Around 2012-13, Public Square Dance began "thriving".
所以我们大家转了选广场舞。
suǒ yǐ wǒ men dà jiā zhuǎn le xuǎn guǎng chǎng wǔ.
So we all switched to Public Square Dance.
这个其实更深受大家的喜欢。
zhè gè qí shí gèng shēn shòu dà jiā de xǐ huān.
Actually, everyone prefers it.
所以大家自发地组织在一起，自发自愿。
suǒ yǐ dà jiā zì fā de zǔ zhī zài yī qǐ, zì fā zì yuàn.
Therefore, everyone organized and got together spontaneously.
后来就我们又组织了老年协会。
hòu lái jiù wǒ men yòu zǔ zhī le lǎo nián xié huì.
Later on, we organized the Senior Association.
就是前年成立老人协会。
jiù shì qián nián chéng lì lǎo rén xié huì.
We organized the Senior Association the year before last.
我们社区成立了老人协会。
wǒ men shè qū chéng lì le lǎo rén xié huì.
Our community has established the Senior Association.
我们在老年社区领导下的。
wǒ men zài lǎo nián shè qū lǐng dǎo xià de.
We're under the leadership of the Senior Association.
我们还到深圳啊，到龙华啊，到其他市里演出表演。
wǒ men hái dào shēn zhèn a, dào lóng huá a, dào qí tā shì lǐ yǎn chū biǎo yǎn.
We have performed in Shenzhen, Longhua and other cities.
演出表演。
yǎn chū biǎo yǎn.
We have done many performances.
并且在市里比赛也得了银奖。
bìng qiě zài shì lǐ bǐ sài yě dé le yín jiǎng.
And we also won the silver prize in the city competition.
在我们...我们还到...
zài wǒ men... wǒ men hái dào...
In our... we also went...
我还到省里，全国都得了金奖和银奖。
wǒ hái dào shěng lǐ， quán guó dōu dé le jīn jiǎng hé yín jiǎng.
I've been to provincial competitions and have won gold and silver prizes all over the country.
我们两个都去过。
wǒ men liǎng gè dōu qù guò.
Both of us have been there.
Teacher Wu:
我们还有养生舞蹈，养生舞蹈八级。
wǒ men hái yǒu yǎng shēng wǔ dǎo， yǎng shēng wǔ dǎo bā jí.
We also do Health Dance, Health Dance level eight.
还有嘻哈，还有养生舞蹈。
hái yǒu xī hā， hái yǒu yǎng shēng wǔ dǎo.
We also do Hip Hop and Health Dance.
除了广场舞，还有一个养生舞蹈。
chú le guǎng chǎng wǔ， hái yǒu yī gè yǎng shēng wǔ dǎo.
In addition to doing the Public Square Dance, we also do the Health Dance.
养生武舞。
yǎng shēng wǔ wǔ.
The Health Martial Arts Dance.
养生武舞在世界上都推广。
yǎng shēng wǔ wǔ zài shì jiè shàng dōu tuī guǎng.
The Health Martial Arts are promoted in the world.
比较广，全球的。
bǐ jiào guǎng， quán qiú de.
It's spreading wider acoss the world.
Angel:
很好！很好！
hěn hǎo！ hěn hǎo！
That's goodl! That's good!
很好！
hěn hǎo！
Cool!
Teacher Li:
放假了！本来我们几十个人的。
fàng jià le！ běn lái wǒ men jǐ shí gè rén de.
It's summer holiday now! There's supposed to be dozens of people in our group.
Angel:
你也想说几句吧。
nǐ yě xiǎng shuō jǐ jù ba.
You'd like to say something, too.
Teacher Li:
对！
duì！
Yes!
Angel:
放...放假了！
fàng... fàng jià le！
It's summer holiday now.
现在都回老家了嘛。
xiàn zài dōu huí lǎo jiā le ma.
Now most people have gone back to their hometowns.
放假，孩子放假了嘛，我们就很多人回老家了。
fàng jià， hái zi fàng jià le ma， wǒ men jiù hěn duō rén huí lǎo jiā le.
It's summer holiday. And the grandkids are on holiday, so many of us have gone back to our hometowns.
所以没几个人在这里了。
suǒ yǐ méi jǐ gè rén zài zhè lǐ le.
So few people are here.
Teacher Gao:
今天玩得最热了。
jīn tiān wán dé zuì rè le.
We had the most fun today.
因为大家都要放假，都回家了。
yīn wèi dà jià dōu yào fàng jià， dōu huí jiā le.
Because of the summer holiday, everyone went back to their hometowns.
小孩一放假，他们大部分都要回内地。
xiǎo hái yī fàng jià， tā men dà bù fēn dōu yào huí nèi dì.
When grandkids are on holiday, most of them have to go back to their hometown.
我们这些都是在这个地方居住。
wǒ men zhè xiē dōu shì zài zhè gè de fāng jū zhù.
We all live in this place.
都是小区的。
dōu shì xiǎo qū de.
We are all in this neighborhood.
Angel:
那...那我最后一个问题问你们。
nà... nà wǒ zuì hòu yī gè wèn tí wèn nǐ men.
And my last question for you guys is...
就是跳广场舞，最大，最大的收益...
jiù shì tiào guǎng chǎng wǔ， zuì dà， zuì dà de shōu yì...
The biggest benefits of doing Public Square Dance...
三点你们觉得是什么？
sān diǎn nǐ men jué de shì shén me？
What do you think the three main things are?
最好的地方？
zuì hǎo de dì fāng？
The best things about it..?
对！
duì！
Right!
Teacher Gao:
最好就是能够使我们心情愉快，
zuì hǎo jiù shì néng gòu shǐ wǒ men xīn qíng yú kuài，
The best thing is that it makes us happy,
身体健康，
shēn tǐ jiàn kāng，
physically healthy,
大家的团结友爱，
dà jiā de tuán jié yǒu ài,
and it unites everyone,
和谐，团结在一起快快乐乐的，
hé xié， tuán jié zài yī qǐ kuài kuài lè lè de，
it brings us together harmoniously and happily.
过好每一天。
guò hǎo měi yī tiān.
You have a great time everyday.
Angel:
很好！很好！很好！
hěn hǎo！ hěn hǎo！ hěn hǎo!
Cool! Cool! Cool!
好！说得很好啊！
hǎo！ shuō de hěn hǎo a！
Good. You said it really well!
Teacher Wu:
他，他年龄七十一了。
tā， tā nián líng qī shí yī le.
He, he is seventy-one years old.
Angel:
七十一岁了。
qī shí yī suì le.
Seventy-one years old.
Teacher Wu:
我们都六十几岁了。
wǒ men dōu liù shí jǐ suì le.
We are all over sixty years old.
Teacher Gao:
我们平均年龄六十五岁。
wǒ men píng jūn nián líng liù shí wǔ suì.
Our average age is sixty-five years.
平均年龄六十五岁。
píng jūn nián líng liù shí wǔ suì.
Our average age is sixty-five years old.
Teacher Wu:
平均年龄六十五岁，我们是。
píng jūn nián líng liù shí wǔ suì，wǒ men shì.
Our average age is sixty-five years.
Angel:
六十五哦。
liù shí wǔ o.
Sixty-five years old.
Teacher Gao:
平均年龄六十五，我是七十一岁。
píng jūn nián líng liù shí wǔ， wǒ shì qī shí yī suì.
Our average age is sixty-five years, and I'm seventy-one years old.
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