Plateau taps its way onto the stage

The production took about three years to complete and passed through three successive choreographic teams. High-altitude conditions posed a constant obstacle. Huang recalls experts watching rehearsals and holding discussions "with oxygen tanks on their backs", while the cast struggled with the physical demands of sustaining long performances.

The creative leap was equally demanding. Performers from inland regions and Xizang were asked to transform a form often associated with celebration into a vehicle for complex emotion.

Tsedrob, a young actor in the cast, says that the shift was the hardest part.

"People often see Tibetan tap dance as festive," he says.

"But it can also carry sorrow and anger. The real difficulty is finding a way for the footwork to express a character's inner life."