In the dancing room, they change into their dancing shoes, stretch in front of mirrors, and discuss a new dance they are learning for a competition in March as they wait for their instructor to arrive.

They call themselves the "Grandpa Dancing Team," as they consist entirely of grandfathers. Their average age is 64, with the youngest a sprightly 56 years old. Prior to retiring, none of them danced.

Luan Shunli was a worker at a steel plant. He retired when the plant closed. He fell into a routine of playing mahjong and drinking with friends. This was broken two years ago, when Luan's friend tried introducing him to dancing. At first, Luan did not want to participate. He felt embarrassed dancing as a male. However, after several training sessions with other dancers, he changed his mind.

Retired men of the Grandpa Dancing Team display their passion for dance. Photos: Yang Lan/GT

"When I joined the team, I weighed almost 80 kilograms, but now I'm only 70 kilograms. And we have made a lot of good friends in the team," Luan told the Global Times. "We dance like young people."

Dancing has brought happiness and health to Luan. Now he is the leader of the team, and dancing is like a new career to him.

Like the other dancers on the team, Luan goes to the dancing room at Changfeng Community School in Putuo district every Tuesday and Thursday. They learn new steps, practice their dances, and socialize. When preparing for competitions, they go more often, sometimes daily.

Team history

Seventy-three-year-old Ni Bingkun is the oldest member on the team. He joined in 2004, and has witnessed the entire history of the group.

In 2004, Shanghai hosted sports and games events for senior citizens. Amateur performances like group dancing and aerobics were usually the specialty of women. But for the opening ceremony that year, the organizers wanted to have an all-male performance. They decided to organize a cane parade with 72 senior male citizens. Given this assignment, the Putuo district government organizers invited Ni and his friends to form a team.

The cane parade received so much praise that the Changfeng Cultural Center in Putuo district decided to keep theproject going, and organized an all-male dance team. This was the birth of the Grandpa Dancing Team. The first dance they did together was the cane parade.

In the following 11 years, some members left, but new ones joined. The team currently has 14 members, with Ni the only original member left. They have participated in many performances, including at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, as well as competitions for amateur dancers. They've lost count of the trophies they had won.

 

 

 

Instruments of dance

One of their signature pieces is called The Erhu Sound, with which they won first prize at the 2013 Shanghai Square Dance Competition. They also performed the piece during a recent practice session attended by the Global Times. As the music begins, they start to move, before imitating the moves of playing the erhu (a two-stringed bowed musical instrument), while dancing at a measured pace. A smile is across every face, and each of them was fully devoted to the dance.

The team has a young male instructor, Wang Yi, a professional dancer and graduate of Shanghai Theatre Academy. Wang began to train the team in April.

"Before retirement, none of them had danced. For them, the biggest challenge was to overcome themselves," Wang told the Global Times. "But they really devote themselves to learning. When I teach one move, others may just practice three or four times, but these guys practice 10 to 20 times." He added that he is confident about the upcoming competition in March because of the team's passion and devotion.

Sometimes they forget their moves, and sometimes their moves are not as nimble as professional dancers, but they keep practicing. The female members of other dancing teams have been moved by their efforts, and they often join them for the practices. Gong Xinying, the director of Changfeng Cultural Center, was concerned about their health as they practiced so hard. She kept telling them even that even though the competition was important to them, happiness and health were more important.

"Dancing is like singing. It requires the understanding of life through the years," Wang said. "Their understanding and their dancing are totally different from the younger dancers, as they have been through the ravages of time. They have experienced what the young dancers have not experienced, thus making their expressions real and moving."

Seeing these grandpas do what they love and love what they do makes Wang happy, and he hopes more senior people will discover a pastime as fulfilling as the Grandpa Dancing Team.