Sweethearts mix glitz with some tai chi

By Matt Hodges (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-18 10:03

Three-year veteran American Sweetheart Tobie Percival, who put China on her to-do list after watching last year's Beijing Olympic Games, was shocked at the sight of metropolitan Shanghai.

Dancers of American cheerleading troupe Sweethearts perform at the Xiangyang Park, Shanghai, April 17, 2009. [Asianesphoto]

"I wasn't expecting all the skyscrapers," she said. "I was thinking more like this park, kind of more greenery and trees, that kind of thing. But no matter which direction you look in, there's a high rise."

Whitney Isleib, 21, said she could see cheerleading taking off here in a big way as China starts to integrate US trends with its own.

"I definitely think it could get incorporated into Chinese sports. I think the Chinese would love to learn cheerleading. I mean, I saw their kicks. They're getting pretty high.

"We'll definitely have some competition in the future."

China sent its first modern cheerleading squads to an Olympics when it played host in August. It is also starting to branch out from the traditional State-led sports system by embracing the US college sports model, a move being pioneered by Beijing's Tsinghua University.

Percival said the squad would be taking home more than just the cuddly blue Shanghai Expo 2010 mascots they got during a gift exchange with the local drum dancers, some of whom were in their late 60s.

"We'll try to incorporate as much of what they do as we can. It's definitely amazing to blend different cultures and traditions into what we do, because we like to be diverse and include everybody," she said.

The DCC's maiden appearance in China was, to all intents and purposes, an unqualified success.

"This is quite different from Chinese culture," said Fan Guangfa, a middle-aged Chinese man who climbed up a lamppost to get a better view. "But I wish they would come here more often."

Some things got lost in translation, but the message of cultural exchange, however garbled, ultimately made its way to the masses.

"Wow," said one man from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, who was carrying his grandson on his shoulders. "American Airlines' stewardesses are really stunning, aren't they?"

When the toddler grows up, the difference between the two will no doubt be much clearer.

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