These Videos Show Televised Dance Performances By Humans, Not ‘Robot Dancers’

Two videos have been viewed hundreds of times after they were circulated in various Facebook posts claiming to show realistic robot dancers made in China performing at an event in Shanghai. However, the claim is false; both videos feature human dancers. One video shows Chinese acrobatic dancers, while the other shows a ballet performance in China by students from a US-based dance school.

A video, showing an acrobatic dance performance, was shared on Facebook. here on April 1, 2022.

Part of the post’s Indonesian caption translates into English as: “Beautiful Chinese dance broadcast from a Shanghai park. Not skilled dancers, but robots created by China.”

“The show lasts only about five minutes, but the queue to buy a ticket lasts four hours and the ticket price is 499 yuan (one million rupees).”

The purported ticket price of 499 yuan, or renminbi, is equivalent to $74.50.

The three-minute video has been viewed more than a hundred times after it was also shared alongside similar claims elsewhere on Facebook. here, here Y here.

Another video, showing a group ballet performance, was shared on Facebook. here on July 10, 2020.

The three-minute, 53-second video has been viewed more than 350 times.

The post’s Indonesian caption is partially translated into English as: “This classical dance has just been created in China and was exhibited at Shanghai Disneyland. They are not dance performers, but robots made in China. The show lasts only a few five minutes, but the queue for tickets takes four hours and the price of one ticket is 499 yuan, equivalent to 1,000,500 rupees.”

The video has been viewed more than 200 times after it circulated alongside a similar claim between 2019 and 2022 on Facebook. here, here Y here.

However, the claims about both videos are false.

First video

Keyword searches found East longest video uploaded to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, on January 2, 2021.

The video was uploaded by an account of a stunt tv show from Guangdong Radio and Televisiona state-controlled broadcaster in China Guangdong Province.

Part of the post’s Chinese caption translates into English as: “Liu Xiao, an 18-year-old girl from the Xi’an Zhanshi Zhanqi Acrobatic Troupe, soars into the air by her hair, relying only on a strand of her hair”. she hair to perform a beautiful dance in the air.”

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the hoax post (left) and the genuine video on Weibo (right):

Another Liu performance was published. here by CCTV, China’s state television station, on September 5, 2021.

Second video

Keyword searches found East video, uploaded to Youku, a Chinese video platform, on May 26, 2019.

The video was uploaded by Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporationa state-controlled television and radio station in China Jiangsu Province.

It shows a performance in a television program broadcast by Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, titled “beyond the show“.

The Chinese title of the video translates to English as: “MorningStar Dance Academy of Atlanta performs the ‘Folding Fan Ballet,’ a Chinese-style ballet, showing the beauty of China.”

Atlanta MorningStar Dance Academy is a dance school based in atlantain the US state of Georgia.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the hoax post (left) and the genuine video on Youku (right):

Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation also published articles here Y here about the ballet performance in May 2019.

AFP conducted multiple keyword searches on the Shanghai Disneyland website and did not find any shows with realistic robot dancers in their listed attractions or entertainment options.

AFP has previously debunked similar claims about “robot dancers at Shanghai Disneyland” here, here and here.