Wang was trained both in China and in the West, and says she takes inspiration from literary classics.

The choreographer based her 2007 Stirred From a Dream on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) classic opera Peony Pavilion.

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She took inspiration from Lu Xun's second short story collection - 1926's Wandering - to create Haze a year later.

Wang believes history is a supreme source of ideas because it leaves much room for the imagination.

She says she's most interested in the connection between the past and present.

"I'm not into retelling or reinterpreting the classics," Wang says.

"People who live in different eras share similar feelings about the relationships among people and society. I can express my own feelings about our society today through those classics."

The Beijing Dance Theater has been booked for more than 40 shows in 12 countries in 2013.

The 2014 Next Wave Festival, organized by BAM Harvey Theater in New York, has also invited the troupe to perform Wild Grass.

Han says audiences overseas receive the troupe's show more enthusiastically and applaud for at least 10 minutes at the curtain call.

Han believes it's ironic that the controversy surrounding The Golden Lotus points out what Chinese audiences are missing.

The theater plans to produce a dance work especially for Chinese audiences next year.

Wang will use abstract modern dance to present a performance based on director Feng Xiaogang's 2006 film The Banquet, which was loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet.

"Unlike audiences in the US and the Europe, Chinese audiences need stories," Han says.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn.