[Only in Beijing] Solo Dance[仅在北京] 独舞

Earlier this winter, I had the chance to perform Laowai (Foreigner) Style, my viral internet song, on the Chinese television show “Beijing Guest.” While I was initially nervous about singing and dancing on stage, the chance to perform my song proved to be too exciting to resist. I was lured on stage. I wanted to use this opportunity to highlight how I hoped Laowai Style could break down stereotypes about what foreigners are like in China. And so, I found myself on a TV stage with the director of the program counting down, “Three… two… one… action!”

It was only then, at the exact moment that we began filming, did I realize what in hindsight should have been immediately obvious: I was alone by myself on stage, and I had four and a half minutes of time to burn while singing. Lights bombarded me from all sides, and the music rang loud through the studio. What should I do?

After singing the first verse standing still, I realized that the only way to make it interesting for the audiences watching on TV would be to act a bit wilder. So I jumped up and down, went over to the other studio guests and danced right in front of them. I swung an invisible lasso near the show’s hosts and the judges who had been invited to see my performance. I strode straight up to the camera and lived out my suburban rap star dreams by shouting my lyrics into the camera an inch away from the lens.

Afterwards, I was completely spent — cavorting around the stage was more tiring than I’d expected. But it certainly did get the attention of the hosts and the judges, who on the whole were very supportive of my performance, despite its unplanned nature. The hosts asked me about my Xiangsheng research and asked me for the meaning behind Laowai Style. I did my best to express my thoughts on how Beijing is a more international city than decades past. It is not inconceivable that there could be someone like my character from the song — just a regular guy who’s a laowai.

The show was broadcast in December and uploaded to the internet in January. When it came out, I took the chance to subtitle the video myself and share it on YouTube with my friends in America. Otherwise, they wouldn’t understand the hosts of the show or the judges’ opinions.

I can’t help but smile. Sure, the show is silly, and sure, there are a lot of foreigners who have had the chance to go on Chinese TV and sing a song. But I still felt proud about my performance. Even if it’s a small step, I felt that my message about connecting China and the West through comedy shone through in my silly dancing and singing. And at the end of the day, I think the show made some people laugh, and that was a success in itself.