A cheerleading team for Beijing Olympics from Yunnan Province put on a performance for journalists in Beijing International Media Center (BIMC) on August 7. The features of a Yunnan's ethnic minorities attracted all.
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| A cheerleading team for Beijing Olympics from Yunnan Province put on a performance for journalists in Beijing International Media Center (BIMC) on August 7. |
This squad is made up of 12 members, including 10 girls and 2 boys. 11 of them come from Kunming University, who are the best dancers of the university and one boy was picked from a TV show. The oldest one among them is 25 while the youngest is 18.
The ethnic origin of the cheerleaders, including Han, Yi, Bai, Wa, Dai and Miao, made the team more outstanding. They also distinguished themselves by wearing two uniforms. They combine Wa and Miao nationality's feature separately with regular uniform, according to Zhou Ming, the coach and also the uniforms designer.
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| The performance is full of vitality and represents the spirit of Olympics. |
Red and black colors symbolize luck for the Wa people. The uniform they wore in the performance carried a theme of these two colors, decorating them with some silver ornaments.
From last August, the cheerleading team has beaten many other teams to get chance to perform during the Beijing Olympic Games. According to Zhou Ming, they have been receiving training for a month in Beijing since they arrived on June 30.
The squad will have performances in 6 to 7 different stadiums, including stadiums of basketball, volleyball, badminton, martial arts, weight-lifting and mountain bike.
"The BOCOG members watched our performance and they really liked it," said Zhou Ming. She also reveled that although they haven't got an exact schedule, they have been invited to perform in other competitions.
The team members receive 5 to 6 hours of training everyday, according to one cheerleader. "Our bodies may feel tired, but we still enjoy it and we are really looking forward to the Beijing Olympics," she added.
(China.org.cn by Wu Huanshu, August 8, 2008)