After fire destroyed her theater, dancer transforms loss into creation with renewed strength and vision, Chen Nan reports.

As dancer-choreographer Xie Xin walks through the doors of her newly reopened dance studio Xiexin Dance Theatre in Shanghai, the quiet hum of the space seems to echo her thoughts. Sunlight filters through tall windows, washing over 2,000 square meters of freshly painted space.

Her eyes flicker over the new rehearsal rooms, the clean wooden floors gleaming in the sunlight. Every corner of the studio carries her mark, conceived as a sanctuary of creativity, and every detail reflects her vision — a place where her dancers can explore, push boundaries, and give their best performances.

She pauses and points at a door, as if reconnecting with the past while embracing the future. It is the door salvaged from her original studio, which was gutted in a fire last year. Yet here, in this new space, she and her dance theater find rebirth.

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The fire left her with scars not only on her theatrical space but also on her spirit. Yet, instead of letting the tragedy close a chapter, Xie chose to transform it into fuel for her art. Out of the ashes came her new creation, In Satie/The Rite of Spring. As she says, the challenge only deepens her connection to the work she does.

This year marks a monumental milestone for Xiexin Dance Theatre as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary.

On Oct 1, In Satie/The Rite of Spring will be staged at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, as part of the 2025 NCPA Dance Festival, which brings together international star dancers from the world of ballet and modern dance.

In the first half of the production, French composer Erik Satie's Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies, composed over a century ago, have been rearranged by musician Fu Yifei. The second half sees Fu offering a reimagined interpretation of Igor Stravinsky's iconic The Rite of Spring. She reimagines it with a contemporary sensibility, blending piano and percussion in a bold reinterpretation. Twelve dancers move with the music, not as accompaniment but as equal partners, their bodies translating the layered sounds into shifting landscapes of emotion.

"Dance is an extension of music. The dancers make the music come alive visually," said Fu, also one of the percussionists, in an earlier interview. As the performance moves on, the dancers pour their energy into every movement, translating the musicians' intense rhythms and melodies into physical expression. Fu sees the collaboration as a merging of two art forms into one expression. "The dancers give everything they have on stage. It's as if the energy of the musicians transforms into their bodies. We are one."

When In Satie/The Rite of Spring premiered earlier this year in Shanghai, Xie was moved by the audience's response. "Many people saw directly into my heart," she says. "Those words gave me new strength, and I could feel the audience breathing with me."

The second half, particularly, becomes a reflection of the resilience of the human spirit.

"Sometimes, life requires you to understand that only through adversity can you truly face the inner strength within," Xie says. The piece takes on new meaning after the fire, where the layers of loss peel away, revealing moments of light.

"The fire is like a gift that destiny handed me when I turned 40: a chance to let go of things, a chance to experience beauty in a broken sense. You come face-to-face with the changes in your inner world and learn to place every step honestly into the work," she adds.

The 10th anniversary celebration will also see another significant dance work, with two reunion performances that encapsulate the spirit, growth and evolution of a decade-long journey in Xie's world of contemporary dance.

The performances on Oct 2 and 3 will bring together dancers from various stages of the company's history in a powerful celebration of art, life and shared experience. It is not simply a rerun of a past creation but rather a special "reunion" of past and present dancers, whose individual journeys have helped shape the company's identity, according to Xie.

Founded by Xie, the company has become a hallmark of innovative dance theater over the past decade.

At the heart of these reunion performances is From IN, the 2015 work that first crystallized Xie's vision and quickly became the company's signature. In the decade since its premiere, From IN has toured more than 20 countries, has been performed over 100 times, and become both a symbol of the company's success and a mirror of its transformation.

"The piece has grown with us," Xie says. "Every dancer who has performed it has reshaped it. It's alive, constantly evolving, reflecting who we are at every stage."

This 10th anniversary performance brings back dancers who left the theater and have since moved on, alongside those currently in the company. Their reunion is a powerful reminder of the artistic bonds they've formed over the years. Former dancers return with their own life experiences, adding new layers to the work, while current dancers breathe fresh energy and perspectives into the piece, she notes.

Xie's own journey began in Ji'an, Jiangxi province, where she was born in 1985. Taught traditional Chinese dance by her mother, she initially resisted a dancer's path, but was later drawn to the expressive power of movement. In 2004, she graduated as a contemporary dancer from the Guangdong Dance School and worked with contemporary dance theaters that include the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, the Jin Xing Dance Theatre and Beijing Dance/LDTX. In 2014, she founded her own theater, Xiexin Dance Theatre. As a choreographer, Xie has won a number of awards, including the Golden Award of the Premio Roma Danza 2015 in Italy, and the gold award at the Seoul International Dance Competition in 2016 in South Korea.

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Since its inception, Xiexin Dance Theatre has been known for its bold exploration of movement, emotion and cultural dialogue. The company has developed a unique style that fuses the abstract language of contemporary dance with the rich emotional resonance of Chinese narratives. Over the years, the company has gained recognition both in China and abroad, performing at prestigious festivals and collaborating with renowned artists and institutions.

As Xie looks to the future, she remains dedicated to pushing boundaries. With the new dance studio, she also aims at inviting international choreographers to work with Chinese dancers, as well as offering dance training to young people.

"We've only just begun to discover our full potential," she says. "Each piece is a challenge, a chance to push deeper, to grow stronger, to move further."

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn