WKU dance team’s intense training sparks student discontent

    The Pop Dance Team’s students in the Wenzhou-Kean University have taken to the school's social media to express their concerns that the intense pre-game training that began during the semester has encroached on their free time.

 

    The Wenzhou-Kean University Pop Dance Team, consisting of 16 members, typically practices from 8:30 and 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, according to team members.

 

    The team frequently represents the school in major dance competitions in Zhejiang Province. They secured the first prize for the school at the 2024 Zhejiang University Students Art Festival. In 2025, they will represent the school in the Zhejiang University Students Street Dance Competition.

 

    Currently, the team is gearing up for the event. However, the recent training intensity has sparked dissatisfaction among team members, primarily due to discontent over excessively long training hours. 

 

                       

The dancers are rehearsing intensely, though they are exhausted, Thursday, Apr.10th, 2025. [Photo/Jiayi Peng]

     "Team training often exceeds the original training time, and sometimes the team training will be in the middle of the night, with only a little time to rest in between" said Shi, a team member.  "During the mid-term week, sometimes I have an exam the next day, but we still train very late, which really affects my study.We complained to the dance team captain, but no solution was found. "

 

    Another team member, Zuoyou, expressed frustration, saying, "Sometimes training takes place on weekends or holidays, taking up the time from noon to night on weekends. This makes it very difficult for me to arrange my rest time. I think my rest time is occupied by training." The Pop Dance Team, in preparation for an upcoming competition, is demanding that members sacrifice their personal time for gruelling training sessions

                         

The dancers were sweating profusely but they only had a short period of rest, Thursday, Apr.10th, 2025. [Photo/Jiayi Peng]

    According to Zeng Ziyan, the captain, the rehearsal time for the competition is indeed more tiring than normal rehearsals. "Some members do complain, but it's part of being on the pop dance team," the captain said. Many members have asked the team management to reduce the training load, but their requests have not been met.

 

    With frustration mounting, some students say the team’s current training approach prioritizes competition over health and fairness. Without adjustments, they worry more members may be pushed beyond their limits—or pushed out entirely.