Disabled artists aspire to global fame

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-20 11:05

BEIJING -- An electrical accident left Huang Yangguang armless, but dancing changed his life.

The 31-year-old was born in a mountain village in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and lost his arms at five. As he grew up, he learned to write, paint, ride a bicycle and plant fruit trees with his legs, believing he could live as normal as others did.

Now his life is more than normal. As a lead dancer in the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe, he has a tight schedule and global aspiration.

"My dream used to be feeding my parents, two younger brother and sister on my own," said Huang, sitting relaxed in a chair backstage at the Beijing Poly Theatre following a show.

Huang Yangguang, an armless lead dancer with the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe, performs in "My Dream" in this undated file photo. [Ggodpp.gov.cn]

"Now my dream is to bring joy to as many people as possible around the world." On Thursday, Huang flew from Beijing to Japan. His companions were singers who couldn't see, actors who couldn't hear and a wheelchair soprano.

Having shone during the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, the troupe aspired to even bigger success on world stage, both commercially and artistically.

At the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, on September 6, the spotlight was on the 100-strong deaf dancers who performed ballet with an amputee girl from the May 12 earthquake.

At the Paralympic closing ceremony on Wednesday night, a deaf-mute girl "talked" the flame to extinguish in sign language.

Other leading lights from the troupe included a pianist, a singer and a flutist, all who had lost their sight but blew away the audience with their performances.

In Japan, 28 shows await them in Tokyo, Osaka and 16 other cities. They are followed by a two-week US tour to Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other cities, beginning October 2. Planned destinations after October 22 included Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.

For those places the troupe won't have enough time to visit, a documentary named after their ongoing show, "My Dream," was slated for a global premier in April. The movie was invested by the troupe itself and was in the running for next year's Academy Awards for best documentary feature.

"My dream is to bring our special art to every corner of the world," Tai Lihua, head of the 153-member troupe, told Xinhua in sign language. "That dream will never end."

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