43-year-old self-taught breakdancer makes a splash online
A 43-year-old plasterer in east China’s Jiangxi Province has become a hit among Chinese online users for break dancing performances that he learned all by himself.
This is what he does for a living but this is what he does when he’s living.
Wu Jiukun was born in the city of Xinyu in east China’s Jiangxi Province. He has been teaching himself how to break dance for the past 26 years. Wu suddenly became an Internet sensation after a video of him dancing got popular on the web. Wu said he was originally inspired by the American movie "Breaking" which was popular in the late 1980s in China.
After watching the movie six times, Wu began imitating the moves in the film, eventually learning all the dances himself. But since then, breaking has become more than just an imitation -- it’s part of his life. But he was initially unwilling to share his dancing with his family.
"He danced secretly without letting us know about it.... We would have never known because he was dancing secretly." said Hu Yufen, Wu Jiukun’s Mother.
Eventually, Wu did decide to dance in public and won several prizes in Xinyu City. But now that his dancing has become popular on the internet, Wu has started reaching a national and even international audience. He’s been invited to perform on several provincial TV stations in China, a dream come true that first began 26 years ago.
