Need to give square dancing a human face

Chinese people's attitude toward public square dancing is quite complicated. Senior citizens, especially aged women, find a new lease of life by being part of modern dancing groups, while many young and middle-aged people don't support their dancing in neighborhoods because of the din it creates.

No wonder, the public has responded differently to the recent news of four government departments, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, jointly issuing a statement encouraging dancing in public areas. Some people have even said that the Dama (literally, big mamas) have finally got government endorsement to practice group dancing in public areas, while others are worried that the joint statement could cause more frictions over the use of limited urban public spaces.

Controversies over public square dancing, in fact, reflect a generation gap and conflict of individual interests. For many senior citizens who grew up in the times of collectivism and enjoy public square dancing, the activity helps them to not only maintain an active life, but also recall their "good old days" when they were young and played and worked together. The members of the younger generations, many of whom are overtly stressed, can hardly understand the joys that orderly public square dancing brings to the elderly.