The boy who learned to dance to a different beat

Yangge is a Chinese folk dance popular in northern China dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 2006 it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Yangge dancers traditionally wear colorful costumes and dance to a live band, which has musical instruments, such as drum, trumpet and gong. Waist drum, silk fan and silk ribbon are used during the dance among others.

Unlike square dancing, a popular pastime among retired elderly women in China, yangge involves men and women. Instead of wearing matching outfits, yangge dancers just put on casual clothes.

In square dancing the sound accompaniment is often thumping dance music played from a portable boom box, but yangge needs a live band, which is dominated by drum beats, Chen says.

"Yangge represents a collective aspect of Chinese culture, and it's a typical Shaanxi culture," Chen says.

Chen, born in Fuxian, Yan'an city, Shaanxi province, became interested in yangge dancing after he watched a performance at a local temple fair when he was 7 years old.