Anshan Twin Firefighters Hot on CCTV Stage

Lively twin brothers
Photo by reporter Li Xiaoyang

Twin firefighters Li Bao and Li Jian in Anshan went on the stage of CCTV program Special 6+1 to show their singing, dancing and to talk glibly with Li Yong the emcee, making all audience to laugh.

With the similar appearance and similar uniform, Anshan twin firefighters went on the stage of CCTV program Special 6+1 to show their singing, dancing. They were good at amusing too. They even showed their cooking of making twisted bread to mock Li Yong, who exclaimed, "I can't even cut in when they speak."　　

Behind the scene, they said, "Dancing is more difficult than army training and we have to exercise even in midnight." They protested with the stylist, "Why do you make our hair like chicken head? We are soldiers, and we can't have such hair." They exposed that Li Yong's face didn't look so long as it seemed on TV.

Having trained for 10 days and spent 12 minutes to show on the stage, they have so much to talk about.

Self-reflecting rehearsal for the Spring Festival Gala.

Li Bao and Li Jian are 27-year-old twin brother. The older brother was five minutes older. They have been firefighters for 8 years and they are second-class sergeants. The older brother works in Anshan fire fighting group, and the younger brother in the cooking team of Tiexi fire fighting group. They are pretty good at making twisted bread. When the Special 6+1 program of CCTV came to Anshan for selection, they got chosen because of outstanding performance. In January 2 this year, the program committee informed them to go to Beijing formally and got their daily lives recorded in Anshan.

The training lasted for 10 days for the 12-minute performance on the stage. But they didn't realize how much the 12 minute would cost until the devil training started. "We got quite pressed. The scenarists were very tough and many people got criticized to tears. Many people for the program said it as a torture."

Their program was singing with dancing Soldier's Crown. Since the program recording was the same time for the rehearsal of the Spring Festival Gala, so most people in CCTV had to shift for both. In order to same time, the scenarist spent only three days to teach the twins, and only demonstrated for 20 minutes each time. "The scenarist told me to dance with the partner and we recorded it with mobiles. We had to practise by ourselves for the rest time." Li Bao and Li Jian only learned piano at childhood and had never learned dancing. But the program required them to dance in accordance with each other, and with the partners too. This was difficult for them and they could help stepping on the partners' feet. According to the scenarist, "Not beautiful at all. Your movement is really a problem."

Dreamed of ticketing and scared to practise

The program committee usually tell the ones without much progress "We may send you home with train tickets." There were people sent back too. This put great pressure on the brothers. "But the dancing teacher Gu Lei likes to improve the dancing. This could kill us."

"In those ten days, we usually dreamed about being given train tickets. One day in one o'clock, I was scared awake by the dream, and dragged my brother for more practise." Finally, they became the only one praised by the cold teacher Gu Lei, and became the positive example for the teacher to criticize others, "Do you know what the saddest thing is? That is to know about nothing the time you leave, not paying off your trip. Look how hard the soldiers have practiced. They knew nothing when they came, but they have learned it now. This is progress and success."

"Oyster" made all the audience hilarious, and Li Yong couldn't cut in.

To lower the pressure, the committee made a joke before they went onto the stage, "Do you know how much it costs for an advertisement of one second? Tens of thousands Yuan. Playing for 12 minutes, you can become millionaires." "You can provoke Li Yong and he's ok with it. But don't provoke too much, otherwise he may get desperate."

When the performance started, the prop people got the wrong uniform. He got the uniform for ground force rather than armed police. The brothers had to go on the stage with their own uniforms. Maybe because they were familiar with the uniform, the brothers performed better than normal. Even the scenarist exclaimed, "How come you got ready at the click?"

Li Jian made twisted bread on the stage. Li Yong took one for eating and thought it as too small. Li Jian said, "You look so thin and must have very small appetite. Large ones will be a waste. We are required to be thrift in the army." Then the brothers started to provoke with Li Yong. They made the audience hilarious with their "Oyster" dialect. Li Yong exclaimed, "What a pair! I can't even cut in."

The brothers said that this program is a personal challenge as well as a valuable experience. Fortunately, they overcame the difficulties and sticked to the end, not having humiliated the uniform. It is known that the program will be played in March, and audience can see them on TV even in Anshan then.