Biennial brings updated versions of traditional art form and a commitment to fostering international exchange and cooperation, Zhang Kun reports.

Dance groups from across China, representing the rising forces of the country's contemporary dance scene, presented their latest productions at the 2025 China Contemporary Dance Biennial from Aug 27 to 31. The performance was witnessed by 20 industry leaders from 14 countries across four continents.

Curated and presented by the Shanghai International Dance Center Theater, the biennial debuted in 2019. This year marks the first time international guests have returned to the event since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As one of Shanghai's major cultural landmarks, the Shanghai International Dance Center is home to the Shanghai Ballet, Shanghai Dance Theatre, Shanghai Dance School, and the Dance College of Shanghai Theatre Academy, as well as professional theaters dedicated to the art form. It is a cultural complex that integrates production, performance, education, research, exchange and promotion.

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Since opening in 2016, the center has been committed to promoting the art of dance and fostering international exchange and cooperation. The biennial was founded to showcase contemporary dance from China, as well as serve as a platform for communication between Chinese dancers, academics, critics, choreographers, and industry leaders worldwide — art festival directors, theater managers and curators.

Earlier this year, Chen Li, the deputy general manager and the center's program director, was asked by a friend, "What is the purpose of organizing the biennial?"

"My answer was, 'because Chinese contemporary dance artists deserve to be seen. It is our responsibility to open the door for them," Chen said at the opening of the biennial on Aug 27.

In recent years, with China's growing global presence, there has been an increase in international interest in the continuous development made by Chinese contemporary dance artists, says Yu Rongjun, vice-president of Shanghai Media Group Live and the center's chairman of the board.

"Global audiences are eager to perceive Chinese culture and art and listen to the stories of China, through the explorations and works of these young Chinese dance artists. We realize that the time is ripe for China to bravely share its stories and make its voice heard by the world," Yu says.

Bruno Heynderickx is the ballet director of the Hessian State Ballet in Germany. He participated in two editions of the China Contemporary Dance Biennial, in 2019 and 2025.

"I was really impressed with the quality of work that was presented here," he says. "I expect to discover new voices in the choreographic development here in Shanghai, as well as the rest of China."

In his company in Germany, he commissioned Xie Xin, a Shanghai-based choreographer and founder of the Xie Xin Dance Theatre, to create new productions. "We worked together three times. I am probably one of the first people in Europe to invite Xie to come and work with us."

Xie brought something fresh to his company, he says. When the dancers of the Hessian State Ballet did Xie's movement vocabulary, "it was an incredible discovery for our audience because suddenly they saw people move in a very different way than we normally do. We have different traditions here, including movement style", Heynderickx says.

On the opening night of the biennial, Xie Xin Dance Theatre presented In Satie and The Rite of Spring.

"We made some revisions to these two pieces, especially The Rite of Spring, because we are working with new musicians on site in this version," Xie tells the media before the show.

The program will be presented at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in October and at the Diaghilev Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, in November. "Next year, we will take it on tour to Europe. The work will embark on a new life cycle from here," Xie says.

"I am very lucky to be working at a great time. We have this great platform of a contemporary dance biennial in China. Guests from around the world will see the diverse Chinese choreographers' works in different stages of their development."

The biennial is "a warm bridge that facilitates more possibilities for cooperation for young, emerging dancers and choreographers", she says.

A major highlight in this year's program is that Chen, the organizer, finds that "quite a few programs inherit elements of traditional Chinese culture".

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For example, Yong III, choreographed by Tian Tian, incorporated the dance vocabulary dating to the Han (206 BC-220 AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties.

"Just like the dance movements we see depicted on ancient murals," Chen says, "there are also productions that integrate folk dance and ethnic culture, but they all express it in a contemporary context."

Menno Plukker, president of the Menno Plukker Theatre Agent Inc, tells China Daily that there is a lot of interest in work from China in the global dance theater scene. "Dancers from China send out a sincere sense of what it's like to live here, including the ambitions and anxiety of the youth and their expectations for the future."

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn