Shanghai wheelchair dancers find their groove as China steps up programmes for people with disabilities

In China, some local governments are raising the number of fitness programmes available to the disabled, as well as investing in facilities and instructors

Dancer born without hearing hopes more Chinese can recognise the ‘fighting spirit’ required of disabled people – rather than viewing them as an inconvenience

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Wheelchair dancer Shao Yue (centre) practises with the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower Handicapped Art Troupe on the outskirts of Shanghai. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00pm, 8 Dec 2021Updated: 4:07pm, 8 Dec 2021

When she lost a leg to cancer at the age of 10, Shao Yue never imagined she could learn to dance.

Now, she is a national wheelchair-dancing champion who hopes her story can help change perceptions of people with disabilities in China.

Wheelchair dancers from the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower Handicapped Art Troupe perform at Shanghai Disneyland on December 3, the International Day of People with Disabilities. Photo: AFP

“People think we face a lot of difficulty going out … and need to rely entirely on others to survive,” said the 34-year-old winner of several competitions.

“But we actually don’t need that much help. And we don’t need everyone to look at us as outsiders,” adds Shao, a mother who drives her daughter to school each day.

Despite gradually modernising attitudes in China, people with disabilities say they are still treated as outsiders.

Shao trains in Shanghai with a dance troupe composed of people with hearing or visual impairments, as well as dancers who use wheelchairs.