"Art should guide people's thoughts. But what we have now are girls wearing less clothes to attract eyeballs and stages that are decorated as extravagantly as possible. Everything is about money and bringing in audiences," she says.

She is comforted, however, by the positive feedback from many audiences. There are some modern dance fans, whose support helps people like her survive.

Qu Jiabo is a modern dance fan. The 32-year-old woman, who moved from Haikou, Hainan province, to Beijing in 2006, works as a marketing manager. In 2011, she started taking part in the weekly modern dance class organized by Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company, an independent professional dance company founded by Willy Tsao in 2005.

A dance lover since childhood, Qu first studied modern dance out of curiosity while pursuing her master's degree at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.

During the upcoming annual Beijing Dance Festival, a two-week program launched by Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company, workshops will be taught by international modern dancers, and there will be performances by professional and amateur dancers.