The Boy of Dance

Wang Yanhui

This book describes the hardships and growing experiences of a group of teenagers as they learn ballet. In that era， a group of fourteen to fifteen-year-old boys and girls came to the army to learn ballet together. In this process， they experienced the hardships of dancing and also shared the harshness of fate on a dancer， and finally， the little protagonists broke out of their cocoons into butterflies. No matter what， they will greet the arrival of tomorrow with a smile. The emotionally charged language and narrative inspires readers to think about the meaning of life and encourage people to have the courage to break out of their cocoons and become butterflies.

That night， Little Leopard dreamt he became a real leopard.

The leopard sprinted across an endless plain， its body undulating with such speed， its feet barely touched the ground.

He felt exhilarated， almost as if he was about to fly.

Little Leopard， formally named Lu Xiaobao， showed promise as a dancer from a young age — a small head， long neck， long limbs， and an exceptionally agile body.

Reminding everyone of a young leopard， his authoritative grandfather nicknamed him “Little Leopard” without hesitation.

When it came time to register his official name， the knowledgeable and dependable grandfather spent a week consulting a dictionary， and finally settled on an authoritative name — Lu Xiaobao.

“Little Leopard Lu？”

The family looked at each other， thinking： Did he really need to consult a dictionary for that？

But when the grandfather wrote out the name character by character， the family was overjoyed.

“Xiao” means “knowledge” and “Bao” is taken from a famous spring in Jinan. Being from Jinan， the name evokes a sense of home and also aligns with his nickname. Ah， true wisdom， true culture.

But Little Leopard paid no attention to such things. Though his name had been changed， his body continued to grow according to his innate proportions. By the age of just under fourteen， he already stood at a towering height of 1.68 meters.

Unintentionally， Lu Xiaobao grew into the ideal dancers physique.

In the dance world， theres a saying： “Three longs， one small， and one high， with twenty centimeters being crucial.”

The “three longs” refer to long arms， long legs， and a long neck. The “one small” refers to having a “small head” to ensure that the body has a low center of gravity and good balance and stability. The “one high” refers to having a “high arch” in the foot. Only dancers with high arches can always grip the ground with their feet， helping them balance swiftly and making their leg lines appear even more elegant in the air. The “twenty centimeters” is very important and refers to the legs， which from heel to hip， needs to be twenty centimeters longer than the upper body （from the tailbone to the top thoracic vertebrae）.

Besides his tall stature， Lu Xiaobaos physical capabilities were also amazingly good， whether it was flexibility or spread-eagle splits. He could open his arms to the point of being boneless， bend his waist to touch his ankles at any time， switch between horizontal and vertical splits freely， and the most astonishing thing was his foot arches. When he stretched his toes to the extreme， they looked like a crescent moon， eliciting envy even from the girls.

However， after joining the dance troupe， his growth suddenly and inexplicably stalled — he hadnt grown an inch in half a year. Eventually， in a height-based lineup， he moved from the back of the line to the very front as fellow members nudged him forward again and again. Friends who knew his nickname unanimously started calling him “Little Leopard” once more.

Gradually， everyone in the troupe began to call him by that nickname.

According to the troupes rules， there was a one-year probation period for new members. If they didnt meet expected goals within a year， theyd be sent back to school. This was clearly stated before joining. Now， with half a year gone by， Little Leopard understood that if he didnt grow taller， hed have to leave.

Someone told him growth mainly happens at night， during dreams.

“Think about it， you eat， drink， and jump around during the day. When do you have time to grow？ Growth depends on the night！ Its like crops， right？ If you hear them making cracking noises at night， it means theyre sprouting. If you dream of flying， falling， kicking， and so on， then youre probably growing taller.”

From then on， Little Leopard took sleep very seriously. Every night， he would pray to the heavens to bless him with dreams of flying， falling， kicking， and stomping — anything to grow taller.

That very night， he did indeed dream of flying.

“Go faster！ Fly！ Fly！” Little Leopard shouted unconsciously.

His own voice woke him up.

Gently， he sat up， grabbed the flashlight from under his pillow， stepped off the bed barefoot， and tiptoed to the door.

There is a horizontal line on the door panel. He had carved it with a small knife， marking the original height.

Little Leopard leaned against the door， raised his hand to measure past his head， and then， full of hope， lifted his head and clicked the flashlight on.

With one look， his heart sank — his palm was still indecisively on that horizontal line.

Useless！ Dreaming is just dreaming， its completely useless！

Frustrated， Little Leopard unintentionally slammed his right hand onto the door panel.

“Who？ Whos there？” Lin Dashu bellowed.

Lin Dashus bed was close to the door， so Little Leopards hit had startled him.

“Its me！ Just going to the bathroom！” Little Leopard was both nervous and frustrated， speaking incoherently.

“Did you go？”

“Already went.”

“You went and didnt turn off the damn light！”

Lin Dashu is from Qingdao， and like all Qingdao folks， he takes pride in his dialect and refuses to speak Mandarin.

Little Leopard turned off the flashlight and tiptoed back to his bed.

“Ah！” A rustle and a sigh came from Ling Xiaos bed.

“Ah— ！” Zheng Yinan also turned over in his bed and sighed.

“You heard that， right？ Little Leopard， youve woken everyone up！” Lin Dashu roared again.

Little Leopard shrank his body and covered his head with the quilt.

“Hey， guys， are you hungry？” Lin Dashu simply sat up， “My stomach was growling before bed， and now after all this， its unbearable”.

“What can we do if were hungry？” Zheng Yi Nan responded softly. A few days ago， he had been punched by Lin Dashu for imitating his Qingdao accent， and since then， he often tried to strike up a conversation with Lin Dashu.

Lin Dashu ignored Zheng Yi Nan and continued to ask， “Hey， Ling Xiao， are you hungry？”

“What？ Do you have food？” Ling Xiao responded weakly.

“If I had food， I wouldnt be complaining！ I mean， if youre hungry， we could send Little Leopard out to get some food. What do you think， Little Leopard？ Dont try to play the fool， huh！”

“If Ling Xiao wants to eat， Ill go buy it.” Little Leopard said grumpily.

“Alright， stop bullying him. Just endure it a little longer and itll pass.” Ling Xiao still sounded listless.

“Whos bullying him？ He brought it on himself. We each pay for our own food， so whats wrong with making him run an errand？”

“Fine！ Lets do it！ Im actually hungry too.” Little Leopard rolled out of bed and began to dress.

“Just dont let Captain Xiang see you. He just emphasized the weight issue again today！” Zheng Yinan whispered. Zheng Yinan had a somewhat delicate personality; he liked to write in his diary， write letters， and would often get homesick and shed tears. Everyone called him “Yi Nier” （a more feminine nickname） and not Yi Nan.

“Who cares about weight？ Anyway， whether its this dream or that dream， Im not growing taller. If Im going to get fat， then so be it.” Little Leopard ranted resentfully.

“Be careful when climbing over the gate， and dont let Uncle Jiao see you. You wont be able to handle the consequences.” Ling Xiao cautioned Little Leopard.

“No problem！ Just avoid the sharp points on the gate.” There was a mischievous undertone in Lin Dashus laughter.

The Boy of Dance

Wang Yanhui

Shandong Education Press

June 2023

35.00 （CNY）

Wang Yanhui

Wang Yanhui， a member of the Chinese Writers Association， one of the first batch of Qilu cultural masters in Shandong Province， director of the Theoretical Review Committee of the Shandong Dancers Association， visiting professor and masters tutor of Shandong University of the Arts， enjoys the special allowance of the State Council.