Primary and secondary school students will dance into the new semester when the activity becomes compulsory nationwide from September 1.

Seven sets of group dances have been designed to "suit the physical and psychological characteristics of students at different ages", the Ministry of Education said in a recent notice.

Boys and girls in senior high schools will also be required to learn the waltz.

Each dance set lasts 4-5 minutes, and will be performed during class breaks or in extra-curricular time. They will not replace the physical exercise course, the ministry said.

Video for the first set will be sent to provincial education departments, which will also ask teachers to learn the dances.

The ministry plans to bring out new sets every two years.

The new program comes against the backdrop of an increasing lack of physical activity among youngsters, mainly because of a heavy homework load and shortage of time.

A recent nation-wide survey indicates teenagers' physical indices, such as strength and speed, have been declining. At the same time, obesity has been on the rise.

In a video-teleconference late last month, the State Council urged all schools to implement a guideline on improving students' health.

Minister of Education Zhou Ji called on all schools to strengthen physical education and ensure students have one hour of physical exercise every day.

Yang Shu, a 15-year-old girl in the middle school affiliated to Peking University, said she welcomes the program, but wondered whether the dances are "beautiful enough".

Wang Wenrong at Guangxi Normal College said: "Group dancing will help cultivate students' social graces and sense of collectivism."

Hong Chengwen, an education expert with Beijing Normal University, stressed that the dance forms should be attractive enough for students to really enjoy.

But he warned that that it might be difficult to promote group dancing among middle school students who are shy about interacting with the opposite sex.

(China Daily 06/05/2007 page1)