An Evening Dance

At Wencheng Jiezuo, a new, western style apartment building near Beijing’s university hub, Sun Aiying puffs as she creeps toward the edge of the commons for a quick breather. In her fifties, Sun is an enthusiast for the high-pitched melodies emanating from a nearby tinny stereo. Dancers swirl around the courtyard, their movements something between Tai Chi and a waltz.

“Of course, there are other styles of dancing that we could do which look terrific, like salsa, ” Sun explains, “but it just sounds horrible.”

Commonly referred to as pingshi, or tranquil style dancing, it is just that, a flowing couples dance set to traditional Chinese music that appears every year with Beijing’s humid summer nights. To a foreigner, it is the very sound of a summer evening in China. Large groups, typically consisting of middle-aged and elderly women, gather at neighborhoods around the city to dance and collectively bemoan the scarcity of male partners. Curious, foreign photographers are apt targets, as well.

No more than silhouettes, bicyclists coast by the courtyard as the last of the pink sky fades on the dancers and disappears behind the 20-story building. A young couple joins the fray at the opposite end of the commons. Now there are more than 40 dancers, and Sun has caught her breath.

“It’s just an excuse for exercise,” she says. But her smile gives her away. Perhaps I would like to dance, she asks.

“I think I’ll just take pictures tonight,” I demure.

“Okay.” She reminds me. “We are here every night.”