Wei Caiqi, the 15-year-old niece of Chinese dancing star Yang Liping, twirled nonstop for four hours during China Central Television's annual Spring Festival Gala, which was aired on Jan 30.

Her hours of spinning not only stunned the more than 700 million viewers, but also stirred public controversy.

According to CCTV's microblog, Wei performed as the "time girl" at the gala. Standing for the passing of time and the changing of seasons, Wei twirled on a special stage, accelerating as midnight approached.

Some have said that twirling for four hours was cruel for the dancer and some call such a performance "ridiculous and pointless".

"She has trained for the performance and when she spins, she has some techniques, such as staring at the ceiling and controlling her speed," neurobiologist Geng Zhi-qing from Beijing Capital University was quoted as saying in an interview with local media.

Wei later responded that although some people doubted her performances she saw them as a kind of "spiritual cultivation", which was similar to meditation.

She also said that twirling nonstop for hours was a gift she has had since she was small. "It was my aunt who discovered my talent because she noticed that I did not get dizzy after twirling when I was little," Wei said.

She practiced several times after she was booked to perform at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

"I felt excited and very well after twirling for four hours," said Wei. "My aunt played lots of music and I also speeded up or slowed down to the rhythm."

Wei said that she has had a great interest in dancing since she was little. Yang has invited tutors to teach her at home and Wei has never gone to school, spending most of her time learning dancing and touring with Yang. In 2010, she was admitted to study at Beijing Dance Academy.

She started performing on the stage at 5 years old and played roles in Yang's dance dramas, such as Impression of Yunnan and Yunnan Sound. In 2012, she twirled for nearly two hours during Yang's dance drama Peacock.

However, due to the tight schedule of the Spring Festival Gala, Wei's last scene, in which she stopped twirling at the end of the show was cut out, which received complaints from Yang, the famous dancer and choreographer.

"I feel grateful for the skill of twirling and this opportunity to perform at the Spring Festival Gala," Wei said in a post on her Sina Weibo account, which now has more than 800,000 followers.

Her performance at the Spring Festival Gala has become one of the hottest topics online. After the show she returned with Yang to her home in Dali, Yunnan province.

The CCTV Spring Festival Gala, which was launched in 1983, is an annual variety show aired on the eve of Spring Festival, China's biggest traditional festival. For years, the gala production team has been trying to seek a fresh angle to retain viewers.

For the first time in 30 years, Feng Xiaogang, a noted film director, was invited to helm the gala. The all-star team also includes veteran comedian Zhao Benshan as vice-director, and veteran actor-director Zhang Guoli as the gala's artistic consultant and one of the four hosts.

The gala also invited international stars, such as French actress Sophie Marceau, who performed La Vie En Rose with Chinese singer-songwriter Liu Huan, and South Korean actor Lee Min-ho.

According to a survey by major Chinese Internet portal Tencent, nearly 30 percent of the gala's viewers said they were "satisfied" with this year's show and around 60 percent expressed disappointment.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn