Chinese authorities crack down on public dancing

SHANGHAI, March 24 (UPI) -- China's public dance enthusiasts have been ordered to step to the beat of a different tune as authorities intervene in a national pastime favored by China's elderly population.

Line dancing in city squares, a familiar sight in China, has been the target of complaints from residents who claim older women who dance at dawn and dusk in public squares blast loud music at inappropriate hours, reported The Financial Times.

Some irate neighbors have gone to extremes to show their dissatisfaction with the dancers. The New York Times reported one man near Beijing fired a shotgun, then released three dogs on dancers in his area. In central China, angry residents threw feces from an apartment building on dancers in a city square, and in 2014 a group pooled more than $40,000 to buy a loudspeaker system to blast complaints against the dancers.

Grievances against the dancers have resulted in government intervention in public dancing activities, with the introduction of "twelve government-approved dance routines, complete with 'scientifically designed gestures that will bring people positive energy,'" according to The Financial Times.

But the regulations did not address the real issue that is at the center of public dancing -- the volume of the music played and appropriate times for the activities to take place, said Zhou Guanglian, deputy director at China's Ministry of Culture.

An expert on the panel creating the new dancing regulations praised the model dance routines and said, "The unified drills will help keep the dancing on the right track, where it can be performed in a socially responsible way."

Other cities have cracked down on the dancers, restricting their venue options and hours of activity.