Keepers of time

The dance show The Twelve Souls of Time is inspired by the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. [Photo provided to China Daily]

On a recent humid afternoon in a rehearsal room of the Beijing Modern Dance Company, some 100 people sit on the floor chatting. Then they start to move under the guidance of 12 dancers.

"You tell me how you feel about this after the lesson," Gao Yanjinzi, the troupe's artistic director, tells the audience.

"You dance the way you want to. There is no standard."

The celebrated dancer-choreographer is giving a free lesson to interested people, and her dancers are demonstrating moves from the troupe's latest work, The Twelve Souls of Time, which will be staged at the capital's Tianqiao Theater on the weekend.

It will be the third round of performance of the show since it premiered in Beijing in May.

So far, the show has toured five cities on the Chinese mainland.