Humanoid Robots Secure AGT Final Spot for Chinese Dancer
Dancer Wu Yufei and his robotic crew Homies advance to the America’s Got Talent final, showcasing a blend of street dance and machine precision.
Key points
- Wu Yufei and his robotic crew Homies have reached the final of America’s Got Talent.
- China accounted for over 97% of global humanoid robot shipments in early 2026.
- Robots excel at power moves but lack flexibility and musical improvisation skills.
Chinese street dancer Wu Yufei is entering the final round of America’s Got Talent with an unusual partner: a crew of humanoid robots. After spending 13 years performing solo, the 27-year-old from Sichuan has shifted his focus to choreographing with machines developed by Unitree. This partnership has propelled him and his team, known as Homies, to the end of the competition in Pasadena, California.
The rise of robot dancing in China is no accident. Following the appearance of Unitree humanoids in the national Spring Festival gala, demand for robotic performances has surged. For Wu, the experience has transformed from managing hardware into fostering a sense of team spirit. However, this progress rests on a foundation of significant technical effort and inherent mechanical constraints that define the current state of the technology.
Choreography is a complex manual process
Teaching these machines to move is not an automated task. Motion-capture specialists must record human movements, simulate them in software, and translate the data into executable instructions for the robots. A routine lasting only 30 seconds can take days or weeks to refine. This lengthy process highlights the gap between the fluidity of human performance and the rigid logic required to program a machine's joints.
The trade-off is clear in the performance style. While the robots excel at high-power moves like spinning, they lack flexibility and the ability to improvise with music. Most routines are pre-programmed, meaning the machines cannot adjust if the choreography changes unexpectedly. Choreographers must therefore design routines specifically around the robots' physical limitations rather than adapting the machines to artistic whim.
Entertainment serves as a technical proof
Industry leaders view these dance routines as demonstrations of balance, motor control, and reliability. These are the same skills required for practical applications in logistics or manufacturing. According to tribune.net.ph, China accounted for more than 97 percent of global humanoid robot shipments in the first half of 2026, signaling a massive industrial push behind the entertainment spectacle.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley forecast that China’s humanoid robotics market could reach $2 billion this year. The dancing acts serve as a public showcase for this growing industry, proving that the hardware can operate reliably under pressure. However, executives acknowledge that while the technology is impressive, it remains years away from becoming broadly useful to general consumers outside of stage performances.
Rapid replication offers a key advantage
Despite the limitations in flexibility, the robots offer a distinct operational advantage: consistency. Once a single robot masters a complex sequence, that knowledge can be copied to the rest of the crew almost instantly. Wu describes this capability as "quite terrifying" because it allows the entire group to learn the same movements simultaneously, creating a level of synchronization that is difficult to achieve with human dancers alone.
