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

His latest work borrows its title from Huangmei Opera, a traditional opera of Hubei province in Central China, and it tells the story of a young nun and monk.

"Most of the contemporary dance works are heavily influenced by the West. Dancers try to use their bodies to express abstract emotions. But I want to tell stories with a Chinese way," says Zhao.

Zhao was born and grew up in Shihezi city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Now based in Beijing, he often travels to places where fewer people live or have some cultural or religious significance. He has had this "habit" since 2003 after quitting a stable job at Guangzhou Experimental Contemporary Dance School in the country's south.

"I never had a chance to go out, to experience life and to fall in love (before). So I decided to leave my comfort zone," recalls Zhao.

Then he honed his skills abroad in Europe, with famed Swiss group Raande Vo and won a top award in the 2001 International Modern Dance Match in Rome. He returned to China in 2008.

"I could have lived in Sweden or pursued a career in New York. I turned those opportunities down. ... I want to live a different, exciting and fresh life, which makes my work breathe."

If you go

7:30 pm, Aug 28. Shanghai Culture Square, 36 Yongjia Road, Shanghai. 021-6472-6000.