War novel takes new life as dance production

The dance production A Leaf in the Storm will be presented by the Beijing Dance Theater at Beijing's Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from June 6 to 10.

Based on a war novel of the same title by Lin Yutang, the production marks the first time the story is retold in dance. The novel, which was published by New York publishing firm John Day Book Company in 1941, is about the lives of several characters in Beijing during the Japanese invasion.

"There is romance, hope, belief, madness and death. Dancers will move according to their interpretations of these elements," says Wang Yuanyuan, a dancer-choreographer with the Beijing Dance Theater.