Forty-nine American girls whose Jasmine dance was performed during this year's Spring Festival Gala are now back in the U.S. state of Georgia, and already back to practice.
It was a high honor indeed for the girls --- as the televised gala is a traditional highlight of China's New Year celebrations --- dating back to the 1980's --- and rated among one of the world's most watched television programs.
Leilani Tian is quite disciplined for a 17-year old. When she's not balancing on her toes, she's balancing her studies.
"Usually when I'm reading my AP US history book, I'm stretching."
Last week, Leilani and her team - from Atlanta, Georgia's MorningStar Academy - took center stage at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in China ... with this Jasmine dance. They were the first American dance troupe to perform at the prestigious Chinese New Year event - broadcast live to more than one billion viewers.
The girls spent two weeks in Beijing, much of it preparing. Several parents also came along .... including 15-year old Abbey Pan's mother.
"I know that my mom is not the typical (gestures air quotes with hands) 'tiger mom.' She's actually really lenient with me. And I just want to take this opportunity to thank her for everything that she's done," Dancer Abbey Pan said.
The parents got to watch from the side. And said, they remembered watching the Spring Festival Gala as children themselves.
Nearly all of the girls were born in the US, and are ethnically-Chinese. They are all originally trained in classical ballet. The Jasmine dance allows them to fuse those Western techniques with more traditional Chinese elements."
11-year old Remie Goins stands out as the blonde girl on stage, front and center. In China, Goins says people often asked to take pictures of the girl with the "yellow" hair. She didn't mind. And in fact, embraced the whole experience.
The performance was received with great fanfare. And clips of the girls have gone viral in China, and abroad.
