Xinjiang through my eyes: The Dawazi girl
Ballet on a high wire
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"I'll teach all my knowledge to the kids to pass down the Dawazi," said Aibibiguli Malike, a dawazi (the Uygur word for high-wire walking) performer from China's Xinjiang. During the performance, she holds a 6-meter-long balancing pole and dances along the rope without wearing safety belts. From the fear she felt when she first stepped onto the tightrope at the age of 11, to her ability to dance freely on the tightrope today, she is passionately writing the future story of this intangible cultural heritage that has been passed down for thousands of years.