Square dancing grannies You must feel surprised or confused about the title. But that is what I am going to talk about today. It is part of the modern Chinese culture. Nearly every square or free patch of pavement across China now has early morning and late night occupants, the dancing grannies. For me, I have a love-hate relationship with them and here’s why.
I love waking up in the morning and going to the park with my dog and saying “hi� to the same dancing ladies we see every day, I love seeing them dancing and improving their
moves day by day. A sight that would never be seen at home. It’s amazing that so early in the morning these grannies are already out exercising and socializing.
However, living next to a square can be annoying when you are trying to sleep, over the last few years there have been some famous clashes in the media. The joke goes that your house price deteriorates depending on how close it is to a square! All those dancers require loud music. Overall I still like square dancing, it’s a free community activity that helps the elderly socialize and keep fit. They are living a colorful later life with each other rather than getting old alone. What started out as a fun way to exercise has now gained recognition from the government with dancing grannies showcasing their skills and opening important ceremonies.
To offset the negatives and end the clashes, the government stepped in and created some guidelines for public square dancing. Now some grannies wear portable linked headphones to a teacher so that it doesn’t disturb others.