[Photo provided to China Daily]

Dai and Ye were married for 10 years. She then married in 1956 her second husband Ding Ning, a dancer.

Dai remained single after divorcing Ding in 1967.

Feng Shuangbai says that Dai's works, such as The Lotus, Flying Apsaras and Longing for Home, reflected her pioneering dance ideas, which combined her ballet and modern dance training in the West with her roots in Chinese culture.

"Her works were known for their simple and graceful movements," says Feng.

Dai often traveled around China to seek inspiration by learning the dances of ethnic groups.

Even at the age of 77, Dai went to Yunnan province to learn the Pumi ethnic dances.

When Feng served as the director of the Dance Research Institute of the China Arts Academy, he invited Dai, who was then 85 years old, to give a lecture.

Feng recalls that during the lecture she said that Chinese dance schools focused too much on training techniques while ignoring the importance of a dancer's emotions.

"When she did rehearsals, she told dancers to portray each role with their own feelings and their souls," says Feng.

Before she died, Dai also spoke to Feng about her hopes for China's dancers and the nation's future when it came to dance.

"She said that she hoped that everyone could dance one day in China because dancing had always been a big part of her life and she considered dancing as the happiest thing in the world," says Feng.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn