Veteran street dancer Wu Jiukun is thrilled to see that the art is getting a new lease of life as it is now embraced by young Chinese who want to showcase their individuality, Chen Nan reports.

When Wu Jiukun was invited to participate in the seventh World Dance Games, a street dance competition, which was held from Aug 9 to 11 in Zhengzhou, Henan province, he did not expect to be treated like a legend by people who he was meeting for the first time.

But that is what happened after Wu, clad in a pair of loose pants and sporting a bright red hair band, showcased his break dance moves at the gala on the last day of the competition.

After that performance, people gathered around him to ask for autographs and have pictures taken.

Speaking about the experience, Wu, 50, says: "It was the first time that I participated in WDG and the event was full of young people in their 20s.

"I thought they might have heard about me or watched my videos but I did not expect that they would know so much about me."

Wu, who was born and raised in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, was among the earliest Chinese street dancers, who learnt the Western art form in the 1980s.

Three years ago, Wu's roller-coaster life was reported by the media, especially after his video, which saw him pull off some impressive moves while making marshmallows for his customers, received over 100 million views online.

Then, he also gained a fan base on social media, such as on popular Chinese short video platform Douyin, or TikTok, with his dance videos, including one teaching break dance moves and dancing to his 82-year-old mother.

Recounting his experience at the event, he says: "The young people I met at the competition were so passionate about street dance, which reminded me of my younger days. I was surprised but also happy to see that street dance is popular in the country now."

Street dance, or hip-hop dance, emerged in the United States in the late 1970s, and it includes a variety of styles, such as breaking, locking and popping.

It became popular in China after street dance-themed movies were screened in the country, and some of the first groups of street dancers became as famous as pop stars, such as the late dancer-choreographer Tao Jin, who was known for his performance in the breakdancing-themed movie, Rock Kids (1988), directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang.

In 1984, Wu, then a primary student in Xinyu, watched an American movie, Breakin', directed by Joel Silberg, that tells the story of a struggling young jazz dancer who meets up with two breakdancers.

He loved the movie so much that he watched it 67 times in a local cinema and then became obsessed with break dancing. For Wu, who was a thin and small kid, imitating the moves of the dancers in the movie gave him confidence.

Recounting those days, he says: "When I performed the moves in front of my classmates for the first time, the students gathered around me and asked me to teach them the moves."

However, his parents were against the idea of break dance, since it was then considered "unhealthy" and associated with a "bad boy" image. So Wu had to practice after school secretly.

After graduating from high school, Wu got a job at a local singing and dancing troupe. And he made about 10 to 15 yuan ($2) a day by performing break dance.

In 1988, aged 18, he became a celebrity in his hometown after winning a street dance competition. In the early 1990s, he made a lot of money after opening his own dance club. However, in 1996, he lost all his money after his business failed and he had to work as a plumber, an electrician and a painter to repay his debts.

"My life was a total mess then. My then girlfriend left me and I broke my leg while performing to make money," recalls Wu. "I left home for 12 years because I disappointed my family, especially my mother.

"The only thing that made me happy were movies about street dance. I watched them over and over. And whenever I danced to the music from the movies, I felt alive."

After paying his debts, Wu returned home and launched a street dance training school in 2015. Last year, he got married.

Now, one of Wu's wishes is to choreograph dance moves which combine martial arts with break dance.

"What I want to do now is to pass down my techniques and inspire the young to dance," he says. "I am glad to see that parents encourage their children to learn street dance since it's seen as a good way to improve body strength and balance as well as gain confidence."

According to Xia Rui, the deputy director of the China Hip-Hop Union Committee, which was founded by the Chinese Dancers Association in 2013, street dance is no longer just for a few, as witnessed over the past decade.

In 2015, hip-hop dance teaching materials were published by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing House.

In February, organizers of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris proposed making the hip-hop style of break dance as an Olympic event. The idea was given a trial run at the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The appeal of street dance has also been boosted by popular reality shows, such as Street Dance of China, streamed by the video site Youku.

Han Yu, who was crowned champion in the first season of Street Dance of China in 2018, was a torch bearer at the 18th Asian Games in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and now has his own dance studio in Beijing.

Speaking about his prospects, Han, who was named Most Influential Male Dancer of the Year by WDG in Henan, says: "I didn't expect that I could go this far as a dancer. I just love dancing. Even when I am not practicing, I am thinking about it. Street dance is now embraced by young Chinese since it's all about self-expression and individuality."