From local to International
Xinjiang is known to many Chinese as a place where "people can dance as long as they can walk."
However, in the past, only a small number of Xinjiang dancers were able to win a place in dance competitions.
As a student, Muhammed won second prize at the 2006 Taoli Cup, the top competition in China. It was also the best result that a Xinjiang dancer had achieved so far.
"We have been continuously impressed by choreography works performed by dancers from top dance academies in competitions," she said, adding that, although Xinjiang has many talented dancers, in terms of choreography, stage design, costumes and other artistic aspects, local performances are generally not as mature as those from more developed cities. However, this is changing.
Now, more dancers from Xinjiang are participating in national dance shows. In fact, Muhammed was not the only Uyghur dancer to appeared in this year's So You Think You Can Dance; tap dancers and street dancers from Xinjiang also impressed audiences in the auditions and early competitions.
"We sometimes lack self-confidence and forget about our own characteristics," Muhammed admitted. "Yes, those award-winning performances are not our specialty but what we are good at is neither something others can learn easily."
Regarding further training in the US and competing with American dancers, Muhammed said she has never worried about whether her ethnic dances might fail to be accepted by international audiences.
"Ethnic dances are actually performances with very international elements, and are very suitable for the global stage," as Fang Jun, an art director for several famous TV shows said to the Beijing News.
To inherit and develop
Ethnic dancers have become a highlight of this season's programming, with many from Inner Mongolia and Tibet.
For Muhammed, while traditional ethnic dance should be preserved, further modernization with innovation is also necessary.
"The performances from other dancers this year are not traditional ethnic dances," she pointed out. "Each dancer has added their new creation and style into the performance."
Nowadays, international opportunities require multiple skills, demanding performers to learn new styles in a short period, and to react quickly on stage to different situations.
Moreover, in an era where the market is filled with more publicly selected idols, a strong personality and performance style is becoming increasingly important.
Muhammed added that, to be able to stand out on such a stage, every ethnic dancer needs to have "something that only you can offer and something that not everyone can learn from a dance school."
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