Chinese Dancer Injured in Opening Ceremony Rehearsal
August 14, 2008
Today’s NY Times reports on a tragic accident that occurred in Beijing just days before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Here is a video clip of Liu Yan performing in competition, along with an excerpt and a link to the full article:
From the NY Times article:
A talented, 26-year-old Chinese dancer was seriously injured during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games just 12 days before the show, and faces the prospect of being paralyzed for the rest of her life.
Liu Yan, considered one of the country’s top classical Chinese dancers, was preparing the performance of a lifetime: the only solo dance in a four-hour spectacular that was expected to be seen by a global audience of more than one billion people.
But on July 27, during an evening rehearsal at Beijing’s National Stadium, the so-called Bird’s Nest, she leaped toward a platform that malfunctioned and plunged about 10 feet into a shaft, landing on her back, according to family members.
