Auditions at the Beijing Dance Academy. (Young dancer[R]: measuring up).

USUALLY BEIJING DANCE ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS GO IN TEAMS OF THREE that traverse the vast People's Republic of China recruiting young dance students from public and private schools. For the last several years, 7,000 to 9,000 youngsters have auditioned annually. Each year, 400 to 500 children make it to the second audition and, from among them, only 60 are chosen. The arduous process starts every January and ends when the acceptance letters go out in June. Recruiters cover as many as twenty cities during the winter, spending two to three days in each location, examining schoolchildren--not necessarily dance students--who are usually 10 and 11 years of age. Here, the Academy's Chen Yong Fu auditons youngsters. [] "First, we look for correct body proportions," says former Academy Director Xu Ding Zhong. "We measure the spine and compare the length of the extremities. For example, the length of leg, from the pelvis to the top of the Achilles tendon, should be longer than the spine; the skeleton and muscles must be well formed--very supple, not so strong. Their bodies must demonstrate natural and excellent flexibility. Of course, we examine their feet, demi-plie, and so on. Further, the children we examine must have very good musicality and responsiveness to rhythm, as well as good intelligence. [] "Those who are selected to participate in the second phase of the audition will come to Beijing with their parents. Nowadays, as more Chinese gain affluence, the parents must pay for the hotel and transportation; it's not like we did years ago when we provided almost everything. However, the academy provides practice clothes and some meals for the children. So the children go through a few more days of auditions here, including written examinations, such as mathematics and language tests. Then, fifteen girls and fifteen boys are selected for the professional ballet program, while thirty others are chosen for the Chinese [folk] dance program."

Norbert M. DuBois is a photographer and journalist and a regular visitor to China. Special thanks to Professor Xu Ding Zhong, as well as to Chen Yong Fu, director of Beijing Dance Academy's middle school, and teacher Yu Xiao of the Shanghai Ballet Academy.