Forever young

I n a sparkling white cap and oversized sunglasses, 55-year-old retiree Zhang Yongli and dozens of neighbours liven up a Shanghai park by doing the jitterbug, part of a public dance craze that has become China’s national pastime.

Every day, an estimated more than 100 million people, dubbed “dancing aunties” as they are primarily older women -- take over squares and parks to tango, waltz, and grind out everything from flamenco to Chinese traditional dance. Complaints over speakers blaring late at night have ensued, and even physical brawls pitting aunties against others vying for park turf. But toes are tapping to an ever-quickening beat as “square dancing ” as it is known in China, booms.

Teams are competing in dance-offs featuring thousands of contestants, while a thriving market of dance-related paraphernalia and mobile apps catches the attention of the business world. Even the government has jumped on the bandwagon to extol the health benefits. “Square dancing happens wherever there is a square,” said Wang Guangcheng, a fitness instructor, and choreographer who helps the government devise dance routines and is widely known as China’s “Square Dance Prince”.

“It has become a venue for the masses to exercise.”