A five-year-old girl’s passion for a Chinese dance craze that is usually the preserve of housewives and grannies has made her a star and led to her leading routines in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

As night closes in, public squares across China fill up with people practicing synchronized dance moves. It is a social activity and fitness craze that now seems to be attracting a broader range of participants.

Dai Lanjingyi has been one of them since September. She started coming to Chongqing’s Jinyang Yicheng International Square after kindergarten every day and mimicking the dancers’ moves.

It seemed that Lanjingyi had a gift for dancing, and within two months she was being invited up on stage during the dance sessions, according to the Chongqing Evening News.

“I noticed she was talented and invited her to be a lead dancer in front of the masses. She was not shy,” dance leader Hong Shuangshuang told the newspaper.

The young instructor has been attracting even bigger crowds to the square.

“I run a store nearby. I come here to see Lanjingyi dancing every day,” a Mr. Yuan said.

Dancing benefits Lanjingyi, giving her an after-school activity to look forward to and building her confidence.

“After learning dancing, my daughter has changed a lot. She is not a ‘three-minute passion’ child,” said Lanjingyi’s mum. “She often practices the dances to music and is punctual for each night’s dance.”

Lanjingyi already knows the moves to accompany 10 different pieces of music and is well on her way to mastering more routines.