What does dancing in a wheelchair look like? On the morning of May 17, at the Chaoyang District Vocational Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled, Li Hui sat in a wheelchair with six disabled people and completed the dance performance of "We Are All Dream Chasers".
With limited movement of his lower limbs, Li Hui slides his wheelchair and uses inertia to shuttle around the stage. In line with the rhythm of the music, his upper body sometimes lies down and sometimes stands upright, sometimes his hands stretch and sometimes stretch, and the expression on his face also follows the dance. It changes with the story, and with the constantly changing formations, the dance on the wheelchair is also quite enjoyable to watch.
Li Hui was a professional dancer at the Beijing Opera and Dance Theater. In 2012, he suffered an accident and lost consciousness below his navel. After the pain and struggle, Li Hui chose to continue his dancing life, pioneered wheelchair fitness dance, and established a dance team composed of people with disabilities. He led the team members to warm up, rehearse, and perform, using dance to heal the body and mind.
Transformation
"Dance has not given up on me, and I will never give up dancing."
As the National Disability Day approaches, Li Hui, as the founder of wheelchair fitness dance, is particularly busy. At 5:30 in the morning on May 17, he had already gotten up. After briefly washing and eating, he drove out in his wheelchair.
This is a day with a very tight schedule. In the morning, I went to participate in the Chaoyang District Disability Day event and performed dance with friends with disabilities; at noon, I met the members of the Heart's Source Wheelchair Dance Team and performed at the finale of Peizhi Central School in Dongcheng District; and in the afternoon, I rushed to Huairou, walking on stage, rehearsing, and preparing for the dance performance on the 18th. It wasn't until 9:30 that night that he returned to the hotel to rest. Even though he has a busy schedule, he always has a smile on his face.
Li Hui was only 27 years old when the accident occurred. The motorcycle he was riding on skidded. After being thrown out, Li Hui hit a lamppost on the isolation belt. In the end, he was paralyzed from a high position, with no body parts below his navel. perception.
The dancer's career came to an abrupt end. It was difficult to take care of himself and his dignity was damaged. During that time, he often stayed up all night. With the encouragement and comfort of family and friends, Li Hui gradually cheered up. His mother loved to listen to "Swan Geese". The soothing melody sounded again and again, arousing Li Hui's desire to dance. He began to choreograph dance moves. Although it was laborious, his head, hands and waist could still move. Li Hui felt that he had not given up on dancing. he.
One and a half years after the injury, Li Hui completely got rid of the haze caused by the injury. In 2018, he established the Xinzhiyuan Art Rehabilitation Service Center in Chaoyang District, Beijing, to use dance and other art forms to help disabled people perform rehabilitation exercises and improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of the disabled group.
uses a wheelchair as his legs and feet, and bumps and falls are inevitable. The wheelchair overturned, and my head was bleeding from being hit; I fell and fell back, and my arm suddenly broke when I put it on the ground; I lost feeling in my lower body, and my butt was scratched, and when I got home, my blood stained the sheets and I discovered... "But these small bumps will not affect it at all. My love for dance. "Li Hui said, "Dance has not given up on me, and I will never give up dancing."
Innovation
Exploring training and dance suitable for wheelchairs
The wheelchair dance team established by Li Hui currently has 15 people. The youngest is born in the 1990s and the oldest is born in the 1960s. They gather together every week to rehearse and perform.
Li Hui is very aware of professional dance movements and training methods, but this methodology needs to be improved and innovated to adapt to dancers in wheelchairs. After all, the wheelchair cannot be as flexible and controllable as the legs, nor can it make jumping or running movements. To move the wheelchair, the movements of the hands will also be limited. Therefore, Li Hui believes that when dancing in a wheelchair, one must not only accurately control the wheelchair and do basic sliding and tilting, but also amplify upper body movements and facial expressions to maximize the connotation of dance.
“We want to use the flexible upper body to show our dance skills more vividly when the wheelchair is moving."To this end, he created a set of warm-up and training methods suitable for wheelchairs, mainly wheelchair model training and ballet body training.
"Wheelchairs are our way of walking. The rhythm of dance lies in the rhythm of walking. Wheelchairs Models should pay attention to training to match the rhythm of the music when pushing the wheelchair, which can also exercise their arm and waist strength. At the same time, the model has a tall and straight posture and firm eyes, so when training a wheelchair model, the expression must be in place and expressive. Speaking of these unique "secrets", Li Hui's voice was brisk and vivid.
Ballet body training uses a wheelchair as a foot, and moves on the stage by turning the wheelchair. The upper body changes ballet postures, and we must pay attention to the upright posture. "During training, we You also need to develop the flexibility of your breath and upper body muscles. Some teammates may not be able to convey their waist strength to their shoulders. I will tell them how to use their breath to help complete the exercise. "
On these basis, Li Hui created some dances suitable for wheelchair dancers, such as Mongolian dance, Dai dance, etc. "I changed the regular foot movements to the rotation of the wheelchair, and the rhythm was also changed to a rhythm suitable for the wheelchair. The wheelchair can move in many ways, including sliding and levering. While exercising in a wheelchair, you must pay attention to the stretching of your upper body and limbs and not be too lazy. "
Power
Heal yourself and inspire others through dance
"Dance is very pure and uses the body to express the dancer's thoughts and attitudes. Dance is also positive and tenacious. Without dedication, you will not reach a satisfactory state. "Li Hui believes that dance can heal people. For people with disabilities, dancing the body scientifically can promote physical recovery and nourish the soul.
In the wheelchair dance team, Li Hui witnessed the changes of the members due to dance. They have become more and more optimistic and confident, "from being afraid of others seeing their bodies to showing themselves generously on stage." A man in the
team was very shy when he came to sign up. "I hoped to dance." Open his heart. "Li Hui discovered that although he didn't like to talk, he was very active in training. He would arrive an hour early every time, and rarely take a break during the process. He was always the last one to leave after the end. Slowly, he became more and more sunny. , loves to laugh and chat, and even takes the initiative to make jokes. The atmosphere in the
dance team is very harmonious. Li Hui is the soul of the team and everyone’s close friend. He is often seen bowing his head and holding one hand. Standing on the ground, holding the team member's wheelchair with one hand, he checked the condition of the tire and observed the location of the fault. After making a judgment, he picked up the tools and started repairing the wheelchair. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin
"I cherish dance. It gives me strength and I cherish everyone’s recognition and support. "Li Hui is grateful for the dance team. On May 17, the members of the dance team followed him around for performance rehearsals. Although they were tired, no one complained. Instead, they were all in high spirits and enjoying themselves.
went out to perform This is a common thing. This wheelchair dance team has already left Beijing and performed in Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and other places. Li Hui will also conduct live broadcasts and recordings on new media platforms to teach wheelchair dance to let more people know about dance. Interested people with disabilities can participate.
"I hope this team can go out and bring dance to the world. Power reaches more people, not just people with disabilities, but all able-bodied people, because everyone encounters obstacles. "Li Hui said that he will always remember that when they performed on stage, all the audience in the audience spontaneously moved to the beat and clapped. "This is the blending of people and people, heart and heart."
新京Reporter Ye Hongmei
Editor Liu Mengjie proofreading Lu Qian
