Chen teaches students at her dance school, which she set up in Beijing in 1995. CHEN XIAOGEN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Move to Beijing

In 1954, after the founding of the Beijing Dance Academy, China's first dance institute, Chen Ailian moved to Beijing to study. In addition to traditional Chinese dance, she trained in other forms, including ballet.

One of her biggest breaks came when she was 20 and still a student at the academy. She played the leading role in Yu Mei Ren (The Mermaid), a dance drama that premiered in Beijing in 1959.

It was the first Chinese dance drama to combine Western ballet with traditional Chinese dance moves.

After graduating, Chen Ailian became a teacher at the academy and worked with the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater.

She also played leading roles in many other dance dramas, including The White-Haired Girl and The Peony Pavilion.

Recalling her early studies as a dancer, she said she was influenced by Chinese Opera.

"The academy invited many veteran Chinese Opera artists, which enabled me to master different skills, including those needed for Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera. These art forms influenced me and helped me to dance in my own style," she said.

Feng Shuangbai, president of the Chinese Dancers Association, said: "She didn't want people to see her in a hospital bed. She always wanted to be her best.

"She was a pioneer. When the country started to build up its own dance scene, she made a great contribution by playing many classic roles, gaining attention from international audiences."

Feng said that when a dancer passed the age of 40, this used to mean it was time to quit. However, Chen Ailian showed no signs of slowing down.

"She never stopped dancing. She showed the world that creativity never stops. I used to visit her during Spring Festival every year, when she continued to train for two hours a day," Feng said.

In 1980, Chen Ailian staged a solo dance show in Beijing, the first of its kind in China, in which she showcased her techniques in traditional Chinese dance and ballet.

A year later, she played the role of Lin Daiyu, a teenage heroine in the dance drama Dream of the Red Chamber, based on a novel of the same name written by Cao Xueqin during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Chen Ailian, who was 41 at the time, said: "Some people doubted I could successfully play the role, because of my age. But for me, age is just a number and never a barrier to being a dancer."

In many stage adaptations, Lin Daiyu is depicted as a fragile and tearful character, but Chen Ailian portrayed her as a dynamic, clever and beautiful girl.

Her performance won her widespread acclaim and the part became one of the classic roles of her career.

In 2017, when she was 78, Chen Ailian staged three performances in Beijing with her 42 students to celebrate 65 years in dance, again playing Lin Daiyu.

She said before the first night's performance: "It is exciting for me－a new start to an old love. I am proud that we have performed the dance drama more than 700 times since 1981. We have toured the world and we are still doing it."

In her dressing room before she took to the stage in 2017, Chen Ailian did her own makeup and pressed her legs continually to warm up.

"I tell my students that dancing is eternal and you can do anything as long as you have the passion for it," she said.

"Many people have asked me how to stay young and energetic on stage. You can dance as long as you can move. You never get old when your dream lives on."

Her other daughter, Chen Yu, who like Chen Jie is in her 40s, is also a dancer.

During her mother's shows in 2017, Chen Jie worked as her assistant.

"She tried to take care of everything before the show started, such as the lights, the costumes and the music. She cared about the role and the audience," said Chen Jie, who also helped manage her mother's dance school.

"We grew up in theater and watched her performances from a very young age. She inspired us to dance and she was a strict teacher," she added. "She didn't consider dance as an art form only for talented people, but believed it was for everyone."

In 1995, Chen Ailian founded the Chen Ailian Dance School. Chen Jie said thousands of students have graduated from the school and her mother not only served as its president but also taught there.