Ambush on All Sides is a production by Chinese director and choreographer Yang Liping and other young dancers.

Liu said that it has been the obligation of the festival to promote original Chinese projects, while contemporary Chinese art institutions have a responsibility to share China’s stories in a global context.

And it seems many artists and performance groups have taken risks to accomplish this. For instance, Xin recalled how dancers at Shanghai Ballet had to set aside their specialties, which have been developed through decades of training, in order to adapt to the new choreographer’s ideas and system.

“Patrick has been an outstanding artist, but working with him wasn’t easy at the beginning,” said Xin, who had to tell the dancers to “dump what you are best at, dump what you cherish, and ditch it like garbage so that you will be ready to take in the new ideas.”

As part of efforts to nurture originality, CSIAF sponsors and commissions works by young artists every year. To aid these young talents, organizers of this project hire a board of experts comprising established artists such as composer and conductor Tan Dun, and dancer and choreographer Yang Liping. CSIAF then commissions an artwork — be it music, drama or dance — from each of these young artists which will later be showcased to the public during “Youth Week”. This year, a total of 14 theater productions have been conceived by this initiative.