Choreographer discovers the color in human movement

At a late-afternoon rehearsal in a vast studio at Hou Ying Dance Theater on Beijing's outskirts, one of the dancers suddenly sprains her ankle. Hou Ying, the company's founder and dancer-choreographer, comes over to check the injury and tells her to rest.

"It's just weeks to go before the show. Each of the dancers is irreplaceable and I have to make sure of their physical and emotional condition," Hou says.

She is talking about the upcoming dance work, Tu Tu, one of her most ambitious choreographic undertakings, which will be staged in Beijing this weekend.