Choreographer Chao Ke uses paper as the main medium in his production In Between. Zou Hong/China Daily

Chao spent three years getting In Between going. He says this show is different from his earlier works because this time he took the audience's perspective into account. "I placed myself in the position of a viewer and thought about what I would like to see."

In the past he might have put his own thoughts ahead of the audiences while directing dance pieces, he adds.

"We (now) invite audiences living in the neighborhood to watch us and we get their feedback directly."

Chao's previous work, Salome, which premiered in Shanghai last year, was an experiment to bring audiences closer to modern dance as well. He chose modern dance moves to interpret the tragedy, originally based on a Greek woman by the same name, and dramatized by Oscar Wilde and many others.

"The audience wants a good story onstage, and I perform it through modern dance," he says.

Awaiting the great jig	Royal Ballet coming to Shanghai