Crane Whisperer by the National Ballet of China focuses on the relationship between human beings and nature. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

The dancer Ma Cong, who was with the National Ballet of China from 1995-1999, and now works as a choreographer in the United States, and Zhang Zhenxin, a young choreographer with the ballet company, jointly choreographed Crane Whisperer.

Ma and Zhang both received training in Chinese classical dance at the Beijing Dance Academy and then turned to ballet. While Ma went on to become a choreographer in the US, Zhang danced with British choreographer Akram Khan for two years from 2007.

"We try to tell a Chinese story of universal value and combine Chinese dances with Western ballet," Ma says.

He and Zhang went to Zhalong a few times to observe how cranes fly, walk and communicate among themselves.

"It's interesting that a crane's knee joints open in the direction opposite to that of humans. So we try to imitate movement and gestures and make the cranes look natural and beautiful in our choreography," Zhang says.

Shen Yiwen, a Shanghai-born young composer who is now working on his doctoral degree at the Juilliard School in New York, has written the music for Crane Whisperer.

Dance of cranes

In 2014, Shen composed for Hamlet, a production by the National Ballet of China. His talent impressed Feng.

"I felt great pressure when I was asked to do it, because National Ballet of China used to commission such maestros as Chen Qigang and Guo Wenjing to compose for their original works. They are my teachers," says the young composer.

Zhang Yi, a conductor of the National Ballet of China, thinks highly of the music and says it's dramatic and describes scenes vividly.

Ballerinas Zhang Jian, Wang Qimin and Wang Ye will take turns in playing the lead role of Mengjuan in Crane Whisperer, while Ma Xiaodong, Sun Ruichen and Zheng Yu will play her lover's part.

If you go

7:30 pm, Sept 23-26. Tianqiao Theater, 30 Beiwei Road, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6351-2631.