Rising from the ashes

This year marks a monumental milestone for Xiexin Dance Theatre as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary.

On Oct 1, In Satie/The Rite of Spring will be staged at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, as part of the 2025 NCPA Dance Festival, which brings together international star dancers from the world of ballet and modern dance.

In the first half of the production, French composer Erik Satie's Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies, composed over a century ago, have been rearranged by musician Fu Yifei. The second half sees Fu offering a reimagined interpretation of Igor Stravinsky's iconic The Rite of Spring. She reimagines it with a contemporary sensibility, blending piano and percussion in a bold reinterpretation. Twelve dancers move with the music, not as accompaniment but as equal partners, their bodies translating the layered sounds into shifting landscapes of emotion.

"Dance is an extension of music. The dancers make the music come alive visually," said Fu, also one of the percussionists, in an earlier interview. As the performance moves on, the dancers pour their energy into every movement, translating the musicians' intense rhythms and melodies into physical expression. Fu sees the collaboration as a merging of two art forms into one expression. "The dancers give everything they have on stage. It's as if the energy of the musicians transforms into their bodies. We are one."