Chinese robots performing classical dance? No, they are real Indian dancers from the US

This video does not show Chinese robots performing at Disneyland in Shanghai.

A video showing an elegant Bharatnatyam performance by two dancers is widely circulating on social media with the claim they are Chinese robots at Disneyland in Shanghai. It is also said that the audience stood in a line to watch this performance for 4 hours and a ticket cost around 75 dollars.

The caption of the video states, “Watch this dance carefully. The dance is being performed at Disneyland in Shanghai. These two are not human dancers, but two Chinese-made robots. The duration of the dance is only five minutes. But, the waiting time to buy a ticket to watch this dance is 4 hours. The ticket price to watch this dance is 499 yuan, which is equivalent to 75 dollars. The facial expressions of the robots are perfect and it is difficult to distinguish them from real humans.”

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Fact Check- 

Reverse image search led to the same video posted on YouTube on 11 August 2017. The caption of the video states “Vahana Alarippu: Bharatanatyam Dance | Best of Indian Classical Dance.” 

According to the information given in the video, the names of the performers are Sophia Salingaros and Isha Parupudi. 

We searched about the performers and found that Sophia Salingaros studied Bharatanatyam with Guru Dr. Sreedhara Akkihebbalu from the age of nine in San Antonio, Texas. 

Since her debut recital – ‘Arangetram’ – in 2010, she has given many solo performances in the US and abroad..

Isha Parupudi is a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer from Houston and a student of Rathna Kumar, and has also studied under Rama Vaidyanathan and Bala Kondalarao in India.

You can see their other performance below. 

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be false. The video shows performers Sophia Salingaros and Isha Parupudi who are Indian classical dancers based in the US and not robots. This video does not show Chinese robots performing at Disneyland in Shanghai.