Tibetan Hip-hop Dancer Keeps His Roots in Mind

During the weekend Sonam Tseten joins thousands of pilgrims to pray at the sacred Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. He is by no means different from other Tibetans living in the city.

Back at his house, however, when putting on his baggy trousers and switching on the pop music, he becomes the one with whom most Tibetans are unfamiliar: a hip-hop dancer.

"I've been dancing for 13 years," said the 27-year old.

Sonam Tseten left Tibet for the first time in 1997, when he was 13 years old. He went to southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to attend middle school.

"At that time, the only foreign pop star I knew was Michael Jackson." But in Chongqing, he heard more foreign songs, like those from the famous American group Backstreet Boys and the South Korean H.O.T.

"I heard the music in the street, and it made me feel like rocking."

Like some other teenagers, Sonam Tseten bought many DVDs, and followed the movement on MTV to learn hip-hop moves.

In 2003 he entered Hebei Normal University, where he organized dance lovers, all of whom Tibetans, to form a group which they called "Golden Peak." "Many Tibetan temples have golden peaks," Sonam Tseten said. "I wanted the name to be Tibetan."

They trained regularly, and performed in pubs to earn money.

Three years later, they won a hip-hop dancing championship in Hebei Province, and came second place for the whole of China.