Zhao's production, The Tea Spell, is inspired by China's tea culture and Buddhism. [Photo provided to China Daily]

He studied traditional dance at Minzu University of China, a Beijing-based national institution where many young people from the country's ethnic minority groups study.

Meng Jinghui, one of China's most influential theater directors, used words like "enchanting" and "surreal" to describe Zhao's show.

As a modern-dance choreographer and an independent producer, Zhao has always held the belief that dance is the outcome of a lifestyle.

"Before The Tea Spell, I didn't drink tea at all. But now I drink tea every day and I'm friends with some master 'tea-makers'. Tea has changed my life and my body," he says.

An earlier work, Dreams of Zen, on which he collaborated with the dancers of Beijing 9 Contemporary Dance Theater, also reflects that experience.

Premiered in Beijing two years ago, Dreams of Zen was made around the time of his father's death.

Inspired by A Dream of Red Mansions, one of China's greatest classical novels, Zhao explores in the show how Buddhist and Taoist philosophies impact the main characters' understanding of life and death. Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera, was also featured in the show.

"I cannot separate my life from my work. They grow together and influence each other," he says.

Recently, Zhao moved to a mountainous area in suburban Beijing to work on his new show, Shuang Xia Shan (Down from the Mountain), which he considers the final chapter in his "Oriental soul and desire" trilogy, with Dreams of Zen and The Tea Spell being the first two.