When I first decided to be a dancing student, there were many people trying to persuade me to give up. I was only 5 feet 1 inch and I didn’t have a good figure. Although I liked dancing, falling into it is not how you learn it.

First, performing dance could be really difficult sometimes because first you have to understand the background and the meaning behind the dance, which means despite the physical training you also need to gain a cultural understanding towards what you have learnt.

Second is a great expense. It is never easy to get into a good university and sometimes you would pay nearly US$40,000 for the training of the whole year. At that time, there was another girl who was about to become a dancing student too. She was taller than me but she was also a little chubby. I don’t know how I could be so ambitious that I desired so much to win. It was this arrogant attitude that really brought me into the field of dancing.

However, I lost my sense of accomplishment ever since I moved in Xinghe. After I heard one classmate (girl) who was 5 feet 7 inches losing 15 pounds within one month and another one who received micro plastic surgery on her nose before the professional dancing exam, it came to me that I had nothing to rely on (neither did I have natural beauty nor did I have a rich family) but only myself. After New Year’s Eve I began a diet by just having some vegetables and little meat without any rice. I successfully controlled my weight around 93 pounds during the dancing exams.

Dancing is about fighting with your physical body at all times. Sometimes I feel like I am more close to an athlete. My parents are my biggest motivators and they always support me with their trust and love. They paid a lot for my dancing classes and it was not that easy for them; I just want to be an excellent daughter to appreciate what they have sacrificed for me. Life at the dancing camp not only improved my professional level but also gave me a better way to get to know other people and to explore my potential.

I felt completely calm when I finally stepped into the dancing exam hall. The candidates were set into groups of six. There were some assistants measuring our heights and weights, then followed the basic tests on the elements of dance. That was how the first exam went.

Sounds so simple, but we’re the only ones who know how tortourous and hard it might be to reach out to the one minute perfection at the performance. In fact, waiting for the result was the most nerve-wracking part. When the day came, all the results would be posted on the wall and almost all candidates went to check if they got into the second exam. As crowded as on the exam day, nearly one thousand students rushed to the same place for the same goal. And that was just one exam spot for one college. Many who came from far away kept looking up their names from the beginning to the end and then started over. It was hard for them to accept that they did not find their names on the list — they did not pass the exam.

Suddenly they burst into tears. I happened to pass by and seeing that situation only made my heart beat even more quickly. I tried to avoid seeing them crying and whispered “let me pass please” a million times. Eventually I found my name on the list, but I was not as happy as I had thought. I only felt it was supposed to be so natural.

After several days the second exam was held, usually including two pieces of complete dance, extemporizing and music knowledge. This time was a real solo show. I chose one classical dance with Chinese fan and another one named “Peacock Dance” originally from southwestern China. The examiners probably would not give you enough time to finish the whole dance due to too many candidates. They could say “stop” whenever they wanted. So you had to show them the best part of your performance at the very beginning with a series of amazing moves to capture their eyes and hearts.

When I got the admission offer from the Southern China Normal University, I was actually a bit afraid for a second because everything needed to start all over. No matter what marvelous stuff you’ve done before, it was going to vanish at last anyway. All the glory will fade away, instead, I wish when I graduat from college or even in the near future, I could say, “Dance is the one thing that I can be very proud of.”