Dancer, 12, a hit at prestigious contest

Xi Jiaqi, a 12-year-old girl originally from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, used her moves to become a semifinalist at a top hip-hop dance contest in the United States on Friday.

Jiaqi reached the World Battles top four at the 2017 World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. The contest attracts dancers from around the world.

She had won China's hiphop dance competition in Shanghai in July by impressing judges with her popping dance - a style of street dance that started in California in the late 1960s. It is characterized by sudden tensing and relaxing of the muscles to the rhythm of musical beats.