'Peacock princess'

"Dynamic Yunnan is a significant work for me. In 2003, we had to disband the team as many shows were canceled due to the SARS outbreak. Now, with a heavy heart, we share news of disbanding the team again, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the performing arts scene.

"I am not afraid of dealing with difficulties. However, it's heartbreaking to see folk artists in the team leave," Yang says.

Yang released her new work, a 12-minute dance film, The Tiger's Roar. Featuring young dancers, including Lyu Chengliang, Chen Tian and Zhu Fengwei, the film is inspired by the tiger, symbolizing strength and courage. Award-winning composer Tan Dun and singer Gong Linna are part of the project.

Yang is not foreign to films. In 1995, she played a role in the film, Warrior Lanling, directed by Hu Xuehua. In 1998, she wrote, directed and performed in the film, Sunbird, which won the grand jury's award at the Montreal International Film Festival.

"As the film is released online, it will reach more people, who will feel the power of dance. I hope this power will help them go through the difficult days," says Yang. "For me, it's an experiment. I want to know how far this film can go and how people react to it－watching dance movements on their screens instead of enjoying dance shows in-person."

The Tiger's Roar is the second project Yang has done based on animals of the Chinese zodiac. In 2021, she choreographed a dance piece, Spring Ox Picture. The ox symbolizes hard work, a traditional virtue. She says she will choreograph a series of dance works, based on other animals of the Chinese zodiac in the future.

"I've known her since she was a young dancer. Now she is a legend," says Feng Shuangbai, president of the Chinese Dancers Association.

In the 1980s, Feng watched Yang's performances in Yunnan, where she trained every night after the performances.

"I saw many dancers training at dancing studios. But Yang, unlike those dancers, could train herself anywhere she wanted," says Feng. "She could extend her arms like the wings of a bird and move her body as naturally as a flowing river. She was born to dance."

He notes that it's a new reality for dancers and choreographers as the entertainment business has been hit by the pandemic. For example, Tao Dance Theater, a 14-year-old contemporary dance company, which has toured more than 40 countries and was co-founded by dancer-choreographer Tao Ye and his dancer wife, Duan Ni, announced that it plans to disband in May. The company was scheduled to stage some 11 dance works from April 29 to May 4 at the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Center in Beijing's Tongzhou district, which have been canceled due to the outbreak.

"The experience has been surreal and stressful. For the dance community, connecting online is hard, which is a lot more different from interacting face to face," says Feng. "But it's better than doing nothing. I saw many dancers and choreographers continually adapting to the new circumstances and thinking outside the box to come up with ways to survive."