DANCING TOGETHER: Young dancers from both sides of the Taiwan Straits perform together during the 2011 China Dance Expo in Beijing on July 22 (XINHUA)	DELICATE PRODUCTS: Exhibitors show their dance accessories to visitors (XINHUA)

Problems

The opportunities have attracted a large number of businesspeople who have thrown themselves into the industry, in which the good and the bad are intermingled.

During the expo, a forum on the dance industry was held to provide a platform for enterprises to discuss solutions to some problems hindering the development of the industry.

"We try to set up equitable rules and unified standards for the dance industry. The forum is considered an assembly of the whole China's dance industry," Feng said.

"The market is being spoiled by piracy, disorderly competition and fake commodities. We therefore hope to build a platform through the expo to collect suggestions about the industry and establish unified standards and norms," he said.

The proposal has received an enthusiastic response from the industry. More than 70 dance product suppliers and cultural studios across the country attended the forum to discuss the foundation of a nationwide dance industry guild.

The industry will probably decline, if intellectual property is not protected and piracy cannot be eliminated, most participants agreed.

"We have worked for many years on researching and developing video-audio products to teach dance. But piracy is rampant in the industry, which damages the creativity of the sector tremendously. Establishing clear norms and standards to protect intellectual property is now a priority for the whole industry," said Wu Haiwen, Deputy Manager of Beijing Tiantian Art Co. Ltd.

Previously, in 2005, leaders of big domestic dance product providers had discussed countermeasures to disorderly market competition. They agreed that standards—including market access and segmentation, and quality assessment—are the key to resolve problems. But how to establish a standard system? There were no ideas at that time.

Besides, many unqualified speculators flocked into the market, blindly copying others' products and styles for profit, leading to further disordered competition. Most dance product brands have been affected by counterfeit commodities.

"We established our brand from beginning our business in 1995. We have developed a full product line for dance now. But a lot of workshops flocked into the industry when they found there were profits in dance. As a result, unqualified service and products damaged the reputation of the industry," said Bai Jinfeng, General Manager of the Beijing-based Baiwu Dance Co. Ltd.

Many dance industry enterprises do not attach importance to innovation and research. Dance product suppliers always invest blindly, leading to unhealthy competition and waste of resources. It is necessary to set up an industry association to resolve these issues, suggested by Ma Hongyu, General Manager of Red Rain International Group Co. Ltd. in Beijing.

The China Dance Expo and its forum is a good approach to realizing their aims for the business representatives attending, Ma said.

"We hope the CDA will help establish a guild to promote our domestic brands on the international market. I think the guild should have four functions. First, normalizing competition and verifying quality; second, establishing industry standards; third, supervising the industry; and fourth, directing the division of work. I believe the dance product industry can realize sustainable development and create world-class brands through our concerted efforts," she said.

Dance carnival

During the expo, a series of contests and performances premiered at the exhibition center in Beijing presented a dance carnival to the public. For example, the National Children Dance Competition, Elegant Lotus, sponsored by the CDA, the highest-level dance contest for school children, gathered nearly 10,000 young contestants from all over the country. When groups of lovely children in turn danced elegantly, spectators applauded loudly and happily, highlighting the expo.

Notably, the Giselle Dance Theater from New Taipei City, comprised of teenage students, was invited to participate in the Cross-Straits Dance Communication Session this summer. These young artists selected 2011 China Dance Expo as their stage, dancing in a distinctive Taiwan style in collaboration with Beijing's student dancers for the audience.

Splendid dance performances, colorful entertainment and the release of numerous products turned the China Dance Expo into a big, lively dance party.