Veteran helps Wang Yabin jazz up her dreams

At first, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, a former star of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the New York-based modern dance company, wasn't sure about the outcome of her recent visit to Beijing.

Since her arrival in late July, Roxas-Dobrish has spent days practicing for a dance project called Dream in Three Episodes that will be presented at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Aug 22 and 23. Her collaborator on the work is Chinese dancer Wang Yabin.

When the 56-year-old veteran American dancer-choreographer watched Chinese TV soap operas, she had noticed cast members conveying their emotions with "dramatic facial expressions", she says adding that as an audience member, she felt nothing.