Qing Li, a visiting scholar from the Beijing Dance Academy, who is being hosted by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance through the spring, is not only studying American teaching in dance here but also sharing his knowledge of dance and culture with Cornell students and faculty.

Li first fell in love with dance as an 11-year-old, when he was chosen to take part in ballroom dancing lessons and spied a pair of men's dance shoes. He tried the shoes on and found himself dedicated to dance from then on.

His entered the Hunan Arts School at age 13 and after graduating in 1999, was admitted into the Beijing Dance Academy to study Chinese folk dance. In 2004, after dancing professionally for three years, he returned to the academy for his master's degree. He now teaches Chinese dance technique and Chinese folk dances, including those of the Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Uighur and Dai ethnicities in the academy's Department of Folk Dance.

"Folk dancing is part of the Chinese culture," Li said, adding that China's multiple ethnic groups all have their own forms of dance. "Our school wants to conserve Chinese folk dancing because in some places it was starting to disappear."

As part of his work in this area, Li has traveled to various regions of China to learn folk dances and bring them back to the academy. The development of Chinese folk dances into a new form, for the concert stage and for dance education, is another means of conserving the art.

Li was awarded a research grant to travel abroad from the Chinese government. Recognizing Cornell's global prominence, he was attracted to the dance program's study of dance in its many social, cultural and aesthetic contexts.

Jumay Chu, Cornell senior lecturer in dance, says that Cornell is particularly fortunate to have Li because for the first time, the global study of the practice of contemporary dance can turn to East Asia.

Chu describes Li's mastery of the dance techniques of the ethnic dances in China as "rich in what he can teach us of the practice of the dances and in how they are set in the cultural and political context of China today."

Li notes American and Chinese students have different outlooks on dance.

"Many American students love dance and continue to study it even though they know it might not be a career for them," he said. "America is more open to dance, a place with many possibilities to explore new ideas."

In China, the decision to be a professional dancer must be made when a child is young, and by age 11 or 12, the child enters an arts school to start training for the profession. By the time they reach a university, the dance student has usually already chosen her career track and the remaining years of study are devoted to the discipline.

Li is fascinated by the breadth and diversity of the undergraduate liberal arts education in America, which is in contrast with his own experience of a focused and in-depth study of dance in China.

At Cornell, Li works with students from the upper level technique classes in ballet and modern dance, teaching students dances from several different ethnic minorities in China. He performed in the Locally Grown Dance mini fest in December and is also co-choreographing with Chu a dance for the Locally Grown Dance Festival in March.

Kathy Hovis is manager of marketing and public relations for the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.