Call of snow

Peacock of Winter features a dreamlike set design by Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip.

"Death is unpredictable and it means doom. But the fear of death is unhealthy. I am prepared for it and I am not worried."

She and set designer Tim Yip have highlighted a peacock's colors in the performance.

The Oscar-winning designer, who is best known for the martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, constructed the set with white feathers falling softly like snow onstage.

With dancers moving fast, the feathers can fly around and keep falling. The dancers will wear huge, dense skirts for the shows.

Young dancers, including Wu Ya, Pan Yu and Yan Jin, will share the stage.

In one corner of the stage, Cai Qi, Yang's 18-year-old niece, who is considered the heir apparent to her legacy, plays the role of "flowing time".

Having performed with Yang since childhood, she will spin onstage in this work, symbolizing the clock.

"Yang takes her productions as an important part of her life," says Wu, a former dancer with Guangdong Modern Dance Company, who performed in The Peacock, and was one of the leading roles in Yang's war-theme production Under Siege in 2015.

"She has a clear vision for her work."