The development of ballroom dancing in China can be said to have begun with the large-scale influence of Europe and the United States on Asia at the beginning of the twentieth century. At first, ballroom dancing was an exotic import—a symbol of Western courtship and elegance. Over time, it was adapted by the Chinese upper and middle classes and made distinct to each region, language and culture.
With the rise of Mao Zedong in the 1940s, the Chinese ballroom dance scene was ostensibly eradicated from mainstream culture. The Communist Party of China (CPC) denounced it as a “Western decadence” and attempted to purge ballroom dancing from Chinese nightlife, especially in entertainment havens such as Shanghai.
With the rise of Mao Zedong in the 1940s, the Chinese ballroom dance scene was ostensibly eradicated from mainstream culture. The Communist Party of China (CPC) denounced it as a “Western decadence” and attempted to purge ballroom dancing from Chinese nightlife, especially in entertainment havens such as Shanghai.
As the Chinese Civil War (1946-1950) erupted between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) and the CPC, the Japanese surrendered Taiwan to the Allies at the end of WWII. In 1949, the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, and declared the Republic of China. These years offer a checkered history of ballroom dance throughout the region, with the exception of British-held Hong Kong.
The years following Chairman Mao’s death (9 September 1976) are marked by controlled modernization and restoration of relations with the West. Ballroom dance reawakened across the mainland as a much beloved recreational and social activity. |
This is a story about ballroom dance in Boston Chinatown—from the generation of immigrant Chinese that witnessed a whirlwind of war, revolution and nation building. As China and Boston Chinatown change with the times, ballroom dance serves as a powerful and beautiful demonstration of one generation’s uniting and transitory experience.