Sichuan Online ｜ Inspiration from the global popularity of the dance ＂Subject III＂

On December 15th, the Royal Russian Ballet danced "Subject 3" at the curtain call of Swan Lake; Previously, in the final of WDSF (World Sports Dance Federation) World Sports Dance Grand Prix in 2023, many famous dancers at home and abroad, such as world Latin dance champion Christina, also danced "Subject 3". How did this dance, which belongs to the category of "social shaking", become popular all over the world? What are the revelations?

Have to start with its "past lives". The full name of "subject three" is "subject three in Guangxi", which is widely circulated. "Guangxi people will go through three exams in their life, one subject is singing folk songs, the other is talking about rice noodles, and the third subject is dancing". The "subject three" dance got its name from this. The video and the "stalk" gradually spread, and netizens at home and abroad danced online and offline, further making "subject three" popular.

Dynamic music, magical dance, silky dance steps and unique opera cavity of national wind music, the process of "subject three" dance from "going out of the circle" to "going out to sea" is not accidental. Someone said in an interview that jumping up "subject three" makes you feel that you can forget your troubles. Cultures may be different, but emotions can be common. Happy and easy-to-imitate mass entertainment has never been rejected by the world.

Of course, the fire of "subject three" can’t be separated from social networks. From "playing with stalks" to punching out "brainwashing videos", social networks give "Subject 3" a sense of continuous topic and interactive ceremony. Randall Collins, an American sociologist, once put forward the "interactive ritual chain theory", arguing that people can form a "sense of membership" through "high mutual concern", bringing "emotional energy" to each participant and promoting their further actions. The high appeal of "Subject 3" is also inseparable from the sense of belonging brought by social network carnival, the sense of ritual brought by imitation challenges and the deepening emotional energy in the process.

Nevertheless, some critics still believe that "social shaking" is the vulgarization of culture. This is reminiscent of the "break dance" and "disco" that were popular in the north and south of the country in the 1980s, and were once considered as "indecent" dances. Nowadays, the similar dynamic "Subject III" has been repeatedly performed on the professional stage by professional dancers, which once again proves that culture is constantly developing, and popular is not necessarily difficult to be elegant. When Russian blondes put on cheongsam and danced "Subject III" in Moscow’s Red Square, when the music of China’s ancient flavor was played all over the world, and even more netizens learned about Guangxi’s two intangible cultural heritages, namely "singing folk songs in one subject and wordy rice noodles in another", we can see that letting the people embrace and spread popular culture freely would have contributed to the spread and inheritance of Chinese traditional culture.

In Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, South Africa … Young people all over the world shouted the phrase "a certain district (referring to the district where their country is located) does not create myths" in Chinese, and joined the happy dance steps, and the distance between their hearts was also drawn in such emotions. Embracing happiness should be popular in international communication, because happy emotions can smooth the gap, network enthusiasm can dispel confrontation, and common emotions can narrow the distance, which is another revelation of the "subject three".

Today’s "subject three" is familiar with the "disco" in the early days of reform and opening up, except that "disco" was spread from abroad to China and witnessed China’s ideological liberation; And "Subject Three" spread from China to the world, witnessing the self-confidence and fun of young people in China today and the openness and tolerance of society. No matter whether the culture is introduced or spread, people all over the world can sing and dance together whenever the song rings. This is a "small fortunate" that belongs to China as well as the world in the 21st century.