China's Hip-Hop Grandmothers

Meet the hip-hop grannies, China's new generation of grandmothers, who shun "Tai Chi" in favor of grooving to the beat of hip-hop music. This group of 30 women, most over sixty years old, have performed all over China and won many awards. They even hope to compete in the Olympic Cheerleading Contest in Beijing next year.

The group's leader is 71-year old Wu Ying. Wu had never heard of hip-hop music until 2003 when she happened to watch a nationwide hip-hop contest on TV. She enjoyed it so much that she enrolled herself in classes in Beijing.

There she realized that only "young" people did this kind of dancing. That did not deter her. She found 30 other retired women to join her and the "hip-hop grannies" was born. Now the grannies practice hip-hop dancing, at least, three times a week. They also give performances and make video recordings for dance companies. Wu loves this form of dance so much that she does all her housecleaning to the beat of hip-hop music.

We hope to see them in next year's Olympics, meanwhile, don't forget to click the video below and see them in action right now:

Sources: Beijing Review.com, reuters.com