Dancer-choreographer Wang Yabin's work, World, in which she communicates with the audience about being a dancer, premiered in 2019 and will be staged by Wang with a nationwide tour till the end of the year. [Photo by Liu Haidong/For China Daily]

BDA Dance Forum, a three-day online event initiated by the Beijing Dance Academy, was held from Nov 1-3, bringing together more than 70 dancers, scholars and educators from over 20 countries under the theme of "pandemic, human destiny and dance".

How to keep on dancing and choreographing amid COVID-19? What kind of role does dance play when social distancing changes the way people interact? How to make the transition to online classes for dance students? Those topics were covered during the 18 branch forums, exploring the current issues that dance art and education are facing.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a very different and historic year. The raging pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of mankind and the fragility of life when we are confronting the unknown challenges of diseases and disasters. However, letting loose and dancing could well be more important than ever," says Guo Lei, president of Beijing Dance Academy, during the forum's opening ceremony.

"During the coronavirus pandemic, we've seen many people, who turned to the mood-boosting power of dance, even the patients in hospitals dancing together, which became headlines in news," adds Guo.