Chinese American ballerina Yen Han, a principal soloist of the Zurich Ballet, performs at the recent Shanghai International Arts Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In Echo of Shadow, Ossola adopts a more instinctive approach to dance.

"I do not prepare movements prior to the studio rehearsal and like to be in the moment, open-minded－a way for me to get to know each one personally. Once the connection is made, we go on creating a dance that is challenging and fits each one of them."

Han has been devoted to dance education as the artistic director of the Yen Han Dance Center, founded by her husband, Matthias Zinser, in 2012.

In the Shanghai production, Han chose to work with young dancers from the Shanghai Ballet so that the production process could also serve as an educational and choreographic experience for local dancers.

"It's also a process of molding the dancers to the style that the choreographers are looking for and the movement quality that the choreographers ask for," Han says.

"I think this is a very important part of the dancers' career－to be exposed to different choreographers, because it will enrich them as artists and enable them to express themselves through dance in different forms."

Apart from the performance, Han held public workshops to show behind-the-scene production activities that make the final presentation possible. At such workshops on Oct 26 and on Nov 2 and 3, Han, choreographers and dancers presented excerpts of the ballet staged at the festival. They talked about its content and how the piece was composed and rehearsed.

Han says audiences usually just see the "finished product", but she feels it's important for them to know the creation process and how it all comes together. This is an approach she plans to continue in her future work in China.

"I would really like to have more transparency, to have the audience visit our workshops, see how a creation is made and ask questions, and to bring public interest to the dance world."