The ongoing dance festival at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing includes Israel's Batsheva Dance Company's DecaDance, Zhang Jigang's dance drama Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva,Jin Xing's Shanghai Tango and New York-based Shen Wei's modern dance piece Folding (above). [Photo provided to China Daily]

Modern dance from China can be eye-opening for Westerners not familiar with Chinese dance. But it has a limited market inside China. That has conspired to create a special genre that relies heavily on exotica as a selling point. What's supposed to be revolutionary often ends up in the gut of conformity, he says. "They (the performers) may believe otherwise, but most (of their performances) tend to be very shallow because it does not come from their hearts."

In the West, modern dance is the result of social development. But here in China, says Jiang, it is the result of imitation. "We have a very different set of social conflicts, which should inform our creation. Of course this does not preclude the efforts and accomplishments of some of our dancers in this genre."

Jiang picks TAO Dance Theater as an exception. "TAO's is a work of wisdom. Its choreographers are very particular about the body language. Their pieces are unique with their own style and very impressive."