Face-changing and Kung Fu — Chinese culture shines on world street dance stage

CHENGDU -- On a stage in Los Angeles, the United States, a 4-minute-and-17-second performance concluded, met with a full minute of applause and cheers.

Homies, a street dance team from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, secured third place at the VIBE Dance Competition on March 2 with their performance, "Sword and Qi in Sichuan," featuring Chinese culture such as face-changing and Tai Chi.

This marked the first time in the competition's 30-year history that a Chinese team won an award.

"The minute-long ovation from the international audience is a lifetime treasure, overshadowing the significance of the ranking itself," said Fang Zhenghua, the piece's director, also known as JF.

On the same day in Paris, France, two young Chinese dancers blended traditional Chinese etiquette and Kung Fu into their street dance routine. Their performance, which began with a respectful bow and transitioned into a dynamic Kung Fu display of Drunken Fist, earned them a spot in the top four of the Juste Debout 2025 global finals.

Blending vibrant modern dance with traditional elements, Chinese youth are captivating global audiences with dynamic choreography that radiates their deep passion and interpretation of cultural heritage.

Fang, 30, said the "Sword and Qi in Sichuan" draws inspiration from a Kung Fu-themed video game and a martial arts fiction that he loved when he was young.

"We wanted to express a Chinese philosophy: the path to enlightenment has no gate. Everyone enters the path out of love and continues because of passion. Constraints and opposition only distance people from their original passion," he explained, adding that this philosophy resonates not just in dance but across all fields where young people are redefining their paths.

To integrate the performance with face-changing, one of the most famous and mysterious kinds of dramatic art in Sichuan Opera, the 30-member team practiced for six months, inviting Yu Dan, an inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage, as their instructor.

Fang said each rehearsal felt like dancing on a knife's edge — one missed beat could collapse the entire performance.

"Mistakes never stopped. But we were willing to take that risk," Fang said.

Du Xiaofan, an 11-year-old dancer, said the team was penalized for exceeding the time limit to preserve the story's integrity. Still, they believed expressing their creative spirit was more important than the ranking.

"When you pour all your passion into a work and stop thinking about winning or losing, you'll truly hear the roar of the audience," said Du.

The performance was uploaded online and won wide praise from netizens.

"I love the intro. It's amazing with the changing mask. That's really hard to pull of," said a post under the name "madgorilla4888" on the social media platform of Youtube.

Following the competition, Homies quickly gained attention from US media, expanding the influence of their work beyond the street dance community to a broader global audience.

Cai Shangwei, director of the cultural industry research center at Sichuan University, said that an increasing number of young Chinese dancers are integrating traditional cultural elements such as Tai Chi, Drunken Fist, and face-changing into street dance, using innovative ways to tell China's stories to the world.

"The youth dare to innovate and express themselves, and this confidence and creativity allow Chinese culture to reach the world in a younger, more open manner," said Cai.