At 67, Chinese dancer Yang Liping says she still feels 18

At 67, dancer Yang Liping says she still feels 18. Her approach to maintaining the physique required for stage performance includes intermittent fasting two or three times a week and a tightly controlled diet.

During a conversation with Sohu, Yang reportedly ate only one egg during the day. She explained that eating too much can make the body sleepy and interfere with the light, graceful quality she seeks on stage. She also said that “beauty comes from hunger,” describing hunger as a state that can leave people more alert and energetic.

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Eating too much can easily make the body sleepy, affecting the lightness and gracefulness of the body on stage.

Yang does not follow the strictest routine throughout the year. When she is not touring, she returns to a more regular diet centered on whole grains, vegetables, fruit and high-quality protein. The article says this measured rhythm has helped her maintain a weight of about 44 kilograms for years. At 1.65 meters tall, her slim and flexible build suits the particular demands of dance.

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Beauty comes from hunger.

Yang presents her physical discipline as a professional choice rather than an invitation for others to imitate. She says health must come first and does not encourage ordinary people to follow the regimen blindly. For her, controlling her weight serves the goal of making every movement, including each “feather” in her Peacock Dance, appear light and agile.

During the interview, Yang said she had “never felt that I could not squat down or stand up.” She continues to work every day with her dance troupe and is touring with the production House of Flying Daggers, using her ongoing work to argue that age does not set a boundary for dance.

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I have never felt that I could not squat down or stand up.