Dance brings ancient war alive

Blending modern dance with Peking Opera, martial arts and traditional Chinese music, the dance theater production Under Siege: The Full Story of Farewell My Concubine is on a four-month tour in 23 cities around China.

Choreographed and directed by Yang Liping, the production premiered in 2015 and draws on one of the most famous battles in Chinese history.

Designed with international audiences in mind, it has since been performed more than 300 times at home and abroad, earning a reputation as a landmark in China's contemporary dance theater scene.

The show has attracted critical praise overseas, described by The Guardian as rich in "hallucinatory images", while The Times noted its "urgency, vividness and wit".

A newly revived production was launched in April. Starting with three shows in Kunming, Yunnan province, it has traveled through Shanghai, Suzhou in Jiangsu province, and Wenzhou and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.

The production will stage three shows at the Poly Theatre in Beijing on Saturday and Sunday, before concluding its tour in August in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Yang explains why she chose to revisit the work now. "I feel there is a hunger for artworks of power and strength."

Over the past decade, she says, many dance productions in the country, including her own Peacock, have focused on grace and feminine beauty. Audience tastes, however, are changing.

"I think they want to see works that reflect real Chinese power," she says.

The narrative centers on the struggle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang following the fall of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). Their final confrontation in Gaixia ends in tragedy, as Xiang, defeated after a tactical ambush, chooses suicide over escape.

This historic rivalry between Xiang and Liu has long been retold in Chinese literature and performance, forming the basis of the Peking Opera classic Farewell My Concubine. The story reached global audiences through the 1993 film directed by Chen Kaige, which won major international awards.

Yang's version, however, shifts the focus. Rather than retelling the battle alone, she explores the emotional and psychological tensions experienced by individuals caught in cycles of power, desire and fear.

"People of all times and all over the world can relate to such situations," she says.

"Dance tells stories through the body, which is universal. You don't need language to understand it."

Xiang emerges as a tragic hero with serious personality flaws that make him a great theatrical character.

"He is stubborn and indecisive, yet also deeply loyal and righteous, willing to break rather than bend," Yang says. "It is this roughness and authenticity about him that endears the character to audiences."

The production's visual language reinforces that intensity.

Designed by Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip, the stage features installations by Liu Beili, including thousands of suspended pairs of scissors that shift above the performers, creating a constant sense of danger.

On one side of the stage, a paper-cutting artisan remains visible throughout the performance, crafting symbolic shapes tied to the unfolding narrative. The presence of this traditional craft adds a quiet counterpoint to the larger spectacle.

In keeping with Peking Opera conventions, Xiang's concubine is portrayed by a male dancer. As the story reaches its climax, the stage fills with vast cascades of red feathers — a striking visual metaphor for blood, sacrifice and loss.

From the Chinese folk art of paper-cutting to the costume design and choreography that borrow from traditional Peking Opera, Yang "adopted wide-ranging elements of Chinese culture ingeniously, and gave Under Siege a strong Eastern essence and contemporary avant-garde temperament", reads a review by Xuan Jing for the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily.

Yang has explored digital innovation, including dance video projects using artificial intelligence, but she remains firm about the value of live performance.

"Technology can create impressive effects, but real experience cannot be replaced in a live dance show," she says.

For her, the physical immediacy of dance is essential. "People want to see real combat, where each strike of the fist hits hard on human flesh."

Also, the simple and strongly expressive stage design plays an important role during international tours, Yang says.

The production has performed in theaters old and new, on stages of various sizes. The full set of props can conveniently fit into three standard container trucks, which is cost-efficient for international transportation, according to Wang Yanwu, the producer of the show.

Yang, now 67, continues to shape China's dance landscape.

Born in Yunnan province, she rose to prominence with her 1986 work Spirit of the Peacock.

She later created Dynamic Yunnan, a large-scale production featuring local folk artists such as singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, which has been performed more than 7,000 times since 2003.