Steps in a new direction

Street dance, or hip-hop dance, emerged in the United States in the late 1970s, and it includes a variety of styles, such as breaking, locking and popping.

It became popular in China after street dance-themed movies were screened in the country, and some of the first groups of street dancers became as famous as pop stars, such as the late dancer-choreographer Tao Jin, who was known for his performance in the breakdancing-themed movie, Rock Kids (1988), directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang.

In 1984, Wu, then a primary student in Xinyu, watched an American movie, Breakin', directed by Joel Silberg, that tells the story of a struggling young jazz dancer who meets up with two breakdancers.

He loved the movie so much that he watched it 67 times in a local cinema and then became obsessed with break dancing. For Wu, who was a thin and small kid, imitating the moves of the dancers in the movie gave him confidence.