A moving tribute

Choreographer from the National Ballet of China will be showcased as part of the company's "20-year" series, Chen Nan reports.

Choreographer Fei Bo will celebrate his 20th anniversary in the job with a selection of his creations being performed at Tianqiao Theater in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"For dancers, 20 years encapsulates the best days of their careers, but for choreographers, 20 years is just a beginning," says Fei, who is in his early 40s and has worked as a choreographer with the National Ballet of China since 2002.

"It may be a bit early to celebrate, but I want to take the opportunity to inspire the company's younger choreographers."

During the past 20 years, Fei has choreographed about 60 dance works, of which he has selected 10 to be staged by the National Ballet of China's dancers. It is part of the dance company's "20 years" series that celebrates dancers and choreographers, who have made outstanding contributions to its development.

Leading ballet dancers Zhu Yan, Zhang Jian and Wang Qimin have celebrated their 20th anniversary. Fei will be the first choreographer of the company to mark the milestone.

Sitting in a hutong coffee shop, Fei enjoys the morning sunshine while looking at the view outside the window. Though he is humble about the 20th anniversary celebration, he is excited about reviewing some of his works, which will be staged together for the first time. These works, as he describes, were created at some key moments of his career and mean a lot to him personally, mirroring his artistic evolution.