Wheelchair dancing champion inspires a nation

Wheelchair dancing champion inspires a nation

AFP

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

Now, she's a national wheelchair-dancing champion who hopes her story can help change perceptions of the disabled in China.

"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 multiple competitions. "But we 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 modernizing attitudes in China, people with disabilities say they are still treated as outsiders.

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

The troupe aims to combat stigmas by giving disabled people a platform to express themselves through art.

Source: AFP Editor: Guo Jiayi

https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2112089269/