Leading a graceful revival

In 1975, as a dancer with the Xinjiang Singing and Dancing Troupe, he was selected to study for six months at the National Ballet of China in Beijing.

There, he practiced eight hours a day along with his classmates from different ethnic groups around the country, and the experience widened his horizons.

"The more I danced, the more I became aware of what I wanted. I wanted to focus on Xinjiang dances, because those were my roots," he says.

By 1986, Rejep, then 30 years old, started his transition from a dancer to a choreographer, by studying at Minzu University in Beijing.

He based his art on real life in Xinjiang by traveling to remote villages of Xinjiang and visiting major events where there was dancing.

His ultimate goal was to choose the best of Xinjiang's ethnic dances and present them on a contemporary stage. He was trying to protect them from extinction and make them more attractive for modern audiences.

One of his most memorable experiences, he says, was his trip to Hotian area in Xinjiang. He traveled across the Tianshan Mountains to Kashgar prefecture in southern Xinjiang in order to learn a kind of Meshrep.

The people there lived in a mountainous area and made a living by herding and farming. They walked three or fours days to get together during certain occasions, such as harvests and weddings. They sang, danced, got drunk and then returned to their homes, he says.