Why bother writing songs? Fast forward to the "Don't Laugh Challenge"

Chapter 33 Where exactly does the future of street dance lie?
Xia Shen was stunned and looked at Zheng Xingqi.

Originally, he was the most unsuccessful one in the dormitory because, compared to him, his roommates had already set their own development paths and had a route for the future, while he was still wasting his time.

At that time, he truly had no idea what his future held.

Among his roommates was Zheng Xingqi, who had also fallen behind him.

At that time, in his eyes, Zheng Xingqi was a rising star in the street dance world, having studied under world-class dancers, joined a well-known dance troupe, and achieved remarkable results in competitions.
She was also the one who silently comforted Xia Shen and silently supported him.

But how long has it been? In less than three months, the situation has quietly reversed.

Xia Shen found another way, a different path, and forged his own road to success. At least he no longer needs to worry about the future, and things are even getting better and better, with a promising future ahead.

Then, at this point, Zheng Xingqi became the one who needed to worry about his future?

"what happened?"

Xia Shen asked about the situation.

Zheng Xingqi gave a wry smile and said, "Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that the overall environment of the industry is not good right now, which is similar to what you experienced before, Shenzi. The market is being washed away, and fast-food culture is prevalent."

With Zheng Xingqi's explanation, Xia Shen also learned the specifics of the situation.

To put it bluntly, those are the reasons. In reality, Zheng Xingqi's life is far from as good as he imagined. He always felt that his roommates were better than him, but that was purely a result of comparison. In addition, when he was already in a bad state, his roommates would not pour negative energy on him, but would silently accompany him and encourage him in other ways.

Street dance, like rap which belongs to the same Hip Hop culture, was popularized by a variety show a few years ago.

That variety show gave the general public a more basic understanding of this type of dance, allowing them to truly understand what street dance is.

As a result, it flourished for many years.

However, unlike rap, which rode the wave of the times and leaped from the underground to the mainstream, becoming a form of music, street dance, due to its unique characteristics, is more suited to the path of training and cultural education.

What is the result of this?

In recent years, China's birth rate has plummeted. Schools are already struggling to fill their enrollment quotas, and now they don't even release the data anymore.

Needless to say, training programs have seen a dramatic decline in enrollment, with even top institutions struggling to survive.

Furthermore, and more importantly, compared to rap, which has a low barrier to entry and doesn't even require professional training, allowing ordinary people to start playing with just a little exposure, street dance is different.

This thing has a really high barrier to entry. Ordinary people can't possibly play it without training, and even if they do receive training, it will take several years to master it.

Even for some difficult dance styles, such as popping, which Zheng Xingqi specializes in, several years is only enough to hone the pop and the basic structure, just enough to develop the basic form.

The same applies to appreciation. Most people can't understand what makes a good street dance good, what makes it outstanding, and what its technical highlights are.

This is completely contrary to the current cultural system and context.

Nowadays, everything is about speed, and people's patience is getting shorter and shorter. Few people are willing to take the time to gradually understand something or a culture.

The dance crew that Zheng Xingqi previously joined actually made some innovations based on street dance. They then opened an account on Douyin and Kuaishou to start live streaming, trying to promote street dance culture while finding a sustainable development path.

Then came the blow that there was practically no traffic, the data was dismal, and after six months of live streaming and six months of making videos, the number of followers was still only in the four figures.

It didn't even break the five-digit number of ten thousand.

In this day and age, everyone needs to eat and make a living. Without positive feedback, persisting every day is actually a form of torture.

The dance crew F5, which Zheng Xingqi joined, has lost five of its ten core members in just two months. The reason is simple.

Some people lose their girlfriends because they can't make money and see no hope.

Yes, some people gave up on that path and found a job as a street dance instructor at a training institution.

Others completely gave up their dance careers, choosing to go against the grain of life, abandoning their dreams and choosing bread.

Each has its own reasons, and each has its own difficult scripture to recite.

Only now, when their captain is about to give up, does Zheng Xingqi's face show such worry.

At this moment, Xia Shen suddenly realized a sentence: life is full of impermanence, and time will always bring many changes.

Now it's his turn to comfort his roommate.

As a close friend who had been there for him during his lowest point, Xia Shen naturally wouldn't turn a blind eye to their difficulties and need for help.

Everyone was aware of this, and began to pay attention to Zheng Xingqi both openly and secretly. The next arrangement was to give Zheng Xingqi the most luxurious package.

How could Zheng Xingqi not understand the good intentions of his brothers?

But with real problems right in front of us, how can we expect to suddenly feel better?
After the massage, Zheng Xingqi walked alone into the hallway, lit a cigarette with a 'snap', and took a deep drag.

The other guys in my dorm all make a living by their voices; they want to pursue a career as singers, which is different from my own. So, I'm the only one in the dorm who smokes.

So, not wanting to bother others, he could only come to this stairwell to drown his sorrows alone.

So, where exactly does one's future lie?
Zheng Xingqi was confused.

Should I also teach classes? Or should I just become a competitive dancer and go around competing?
But if that's the case, how can the culture be promoted and seen by more people?

After thinking for a long time, he turned on his phone and started scrolling aimlessly and absentmindedly.

Actually, his attention wasn't on his phone at all.

As he scrolled through the page, he came across a familiar ID.
This ID is named [Barbie Brown].

She was also an old acquaintance of his, a female dancer, a very skilled female dancer. Even if he met her in a competition, he was not guaranteed to win. He had narrowly lost to her in several semi-finals, which left him with a lingering resentment.

He knew that the other party was indeed running a short video account, but it had never been any different from his own and had never received much attention.

But what he sees now is completely different.

"I used to miss that darkness, every single morning."

The person in the video slaps themselves hard, then begins to sway gracefully.

Then, combined with the unique clean and crisp texture of popping, the dance was given a completely different flavor.

However, it still doesn't deviate from the original framework; Barbie Brown is also wearing a Lolita dress with white stockings.

The number of likes has exceeded one million.
Zheng Xingqi was completely stunned.

(End of this chapter)