Undertaking a journey to the West

It also shows how the other two disciples, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, join the journey and how Guanyin, the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, helps Xuanzang and his companions survive the journey.

Wang also uses elements of martial arts and traditional Chinese opera in her choreography, such as when dancer Niu Dongyan, who plays Sun Wukong, performs with a wooden stick resembling the Monkey King's golden cudgel, or jingubang, a magic weapon that can change in size, making it small enough for him to keep in his ear, or as big as he needs it to be to defeat an enemy.

Since 2009, Wang has been inviting dancers from around the world to be part of Yabin and Her Friends, making international collaboration a driving force in her dance work. For example, she collaborated with Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui on Genesis in 2013, and with choreographer Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on Dream in Three Episodes.

Wang attributes the collaboration with Petitgirard to Dong Qiang, a scholar and translator, who is dean of the Yenching Academy at Peking University and chair of the French department of its School of Foreign Languages. Dong introduced Wang to Petitgirard and served as the literary consultant on the project.

"When Petitgirard told me about his story with Journey to the West, and how he was fascinated with the novel, I was very touched. I immediately recommended Wang (Yabin) to him," says Dong.

"I've been building bridges between Chinese and French artists for decades. This collaboration, which has been ongoing through the challenge presented by the pandemic, is finally coming true."