A hard act to follow

Chen Weiya still feels proud of the Olympic Games' Opening Ceremony on Aug 8 last year, not only as a co-director but as an ordinary citizen, said the veteran choreographer and director who assisted Zhang Yimou.

"What we did for the show since 2005 remains fresh in my memory. In the twinkling of an eye, the torch was lit and we hugged each other to celebrate the success. But all the hardship, every brainstorm, bitterness and sweetness remains in my memory," Chen told China Daily before preparing for a gala show at the Great Hall of the People.

As the artistic director of the China National Oriental Song and Dance Company, Chen was soon busy with new productions after the opening ceremony, including The Silk Road on the Sea last November, an acrobatic show featuring the Monkey King based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West in January, and a revival of three shows to be staged at Shanghai Expo. Shanghai Opera Ballet has also commissioned him to choreograph a dance telling the story of the "golden voice" Zhou Xuan (1918-1957), the famous singer and actress popular in Shanghai in the 1940s.