The National Ballet of China will stage seven new dance pieces by young dancers-choreographers, Chen Nan reports.

She Zhaohuan has been dancing with the National Ballet of China for eight years. The 29-year-old enjoys dancing onstage and interpreting the choreographers' ideas with his body movements.

He has performed in the company's productions, such as The Red Detachment of Women, a Chinese ballet created in the 1960s, and the company's version of Le Corsaire (The Pirate), a ballet in three acts with a libretto based on the poem The Corsair by George Gordon Byron.

Marking a breakthrough in She's career, he has choreographed a piece himself that will be premiered by fellow dancers at Beijing's Tianqiao Theater on Thursday.

Titled Lonely Planets, the piece has four male dancers, who, while moving their bodies and dancing en pointe, keep looking at their hands-the action is a metaphor for modern society where people are dependent on cellphones.

"I was inspired to create this piece after I saw a book by photographer Li Xiaoliang. The book captures people of different ages from many countries looking at their phones in such places as subways, restaurants and streets," says She.

Born in Qingdao, Shandong province, She was enrolled in the middle school of the Beijing Dance Academy in 2002 and then at the academy itself in 2009.

"I have choreographed for the first time and I want to tell stories about the people around me," said She at the National Ballet of China on April 17, when a part of his dance piece was being rehearsed.

Seven choreographers, including She, will have their works staged at the Beijing theater on Thursday and Friday.

Every spring, the national ballet holds its annual workshop, which brings together young choreographers and their original works. According to Feng Ying, president of the National Ballet of China, this year, the seven choreographers will present their own perspectives on ballet and experiment with their ideas.

"When we initiated the workshop 11 years ago, we wanted young dancers and choreographers to think outside the box and connect ballet with contemporary life. It's our goal even today," says Feng.

"Originality is key to the development of the company. Since our first-generation choreographers, who created classic pieces such as The Red Detachment of Women, we've been keen on discovering and training young Chinese choreographers."

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the National Ballet of China to cancel its live shows in theaters last year and the company decided to hold the workshop online. Four ballet pieces and two video performances were livestreamed for the workshop, reflecting the impact of the outbreak.

"This year, with theaters reopening to full capacity, we look forward to welcoming the audience with new works," says Feng.

Wang Sizheng, the director of the upcoming performances at Tianqiao Theater, says: "When I look at the seven new pieces, I am very touched, because I, too, grew from being a dancer to a choreographer, and now a director, through my experiences of participating in the ballet workshop."

Wang, who is also a teacher at the ballet school of the National Ballet of China, shot a documentary focusing on his students and his own life during the pandemic. The video material turned out to be a work, titled A Lesson, which was streamed online during last year's workshop.

"The workshop is a platform for young dancers and choreographers to test their ideas. It's totally OK to make mistakes on this platform, because the platform is open to various ideas," says Wang.

Wang was born in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, and joined the National Ballet of China in 2007 after graduating from the high school affiliated to the Beijing Dance Academy the same year. He played roles in the classics, including The Red Detachment of Women, Raise the Red Lantern and Swan Lake.

In addition to She's Lonely Planets, the other six new dance pieces cover a wide range of topics.

Mountains and Rivers by Li Yang presents the country's natural scenery through the dancers' movements.

Beethoven is choreographed by Zheng Yu, who is a fan of the German composer and was inspired by the composer's Piano Concerto No 4 in G major, Op 58.

The Butterfly Dream by Liu Xuechen combines videos and dance movements to retell the Chinese folk tale Zhuangzhou Dreams of Butterfly.

Missing You Forever by Li Jun is dedicated to the 100th year of the founding of the Communist Party of China. It tells of the romance between Gao Junyu (1896-1925), a martyr who devoted his life to the CPC, and his lover, Shi Pingmei (1902-1928), a Chinese writer.

Before the Dawn by Peng Jie portrays the difficulties Chinese people faced before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and their fighting spirit to achieve victory.

Shades and Marks by Wang Le explores the relationship between time and people by using lighting effects while the dancers move.