Dream Mix perform in Shanghai.(Ti Gong)
Competing in the Olympic Games is the ultimate dream of many athletes. For Dream Mix, a Shanghai-based rope-jumping team, that dream is about to become a reality.
Dream Mix, a nine-member rope-jumping team from the Shanghai Yuedong Rope Jumping Club, recently received an invitation from the organizing committee of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games to participate in both the Summer Games and the Paralympics in Brazil as entertainers.
According to Brazilian national Vivien Vajda Elisangela, one of only two foreigners on the team, Dream Mix is the only overseas entertainment act the Rio Olympic committee has invited this year.
While rope jumping is not an Olympic sport, it is an extremely challenging discipline that combines elements of gymnastics, dancing and various types of exercise.
"Based on previous experience, the team will give at least one or two performances every day in Brazil," Elisangela told Shanghai Daily. "We have also applied to perform at the opening ceremony of the Rio Games, and are still waiting for feedback."
The 21-year-old is a rope-jumping world champion, as well as the individual record holder of the speed and endurance competition at the European Championships (she lived and studied in Hungary for a while). Elisangela also entertained at the 2012 London Olympics organizers four years ago. Still studying in Brazil, she has visited Shanghai every year since 2013 to train with Dream Mix for one to three months.
"When the Rio organizers asked me to suggest entertainment performers, I immediately recommended the rope-jumping team of Shanghai Yuedong. After watching the team's videos, the organizers were immediately impressed."
New level of success
Li Shengxi, chairman of Dream Mix promoter Shanghai Yuedong Culture Communication Co, said Elisangela's recommendation has helped the team to achieve a new level of success.
Li graduated from Shanghai University of Sport and was the captain of the school's rope-jumping team, one of the first in China.
He started the company in 2009, and was introduced to Elisangela by a friend in Hong Kong. On Li's invitation, Elisangela made her first visit to China and Shanghai two years later, and used her connections to support Li by introducing the Shanghai team to people running international competitions.
As the vice president of the Shanghai Rope Skipping Association, Li has co-organized international rope-jumping competitions in Shanghai since 2014, and Elisangela has helped him by inviting foreign teams to the country. This year's event has been scheduled in November, and Li plans to invite about 50 teams from 10 foreign countries.
