One of China’s most creative dance festivals is here with a 2-week long schedule.The event includes dance workshops and performances from major international and national dance troupes.

Miquel de Jong, Dance Instructor, said, "In dance, it has to be about real life, real feelings, real emotions. When I used to dance, I noticed I would just do the movements but after a while, I realized I didn’t live those moments."

So for those not familiar with dance, you may be wondering what exactly defines modern dance? Well, there are several signature elements: there’s contract-release, fall and recovery, weight-shifting, and interpretive improvisation. But most importantly, it’s all about self-expression.

Fu Yuejia, Amateur Dancer, said, "I think modern dance, it shows my own style. And I can dance freely and nobody will control my body and nobody will judge your movements."

But even with its rising popularity in China, Chinese modern dancers still face certain limitations. Liu Yi Feng, one of the festival organizers as well as instructors, believes that China is just warming up to the art form.

Liu Yifeng, Organizer/Instructor, said, "As of now, we have more opportunities to perform abroad than within China. It’s because in other countries, modern dance is more accepted. But it lacks context for the Chinese audience. However, it’s getting better and better, because we have more and more students interested every year."

Yue Xu, Beijing, said, “Did you know modern dance has a relatively short history in China? The Guangdong Modern Dance Company was the first of its kind in China, and the organization was formed in 1992. But it wasn’t until the year 2000 when the art form really took off. Just to put it into perspective for you, the history of modern dance, despite its name, dates all the back to the 1890’s, when American dancer Isadora Duncan pioneered elements such as dancing barefoot, with loose hair, and the contract-release movements. So it’s quite impressive how far modern dance has come in China in such a short amount of time."

And now is your chance to go support this dance genre. The Beijing Modern Dance festival will kick off its performances this Sunday, with a packed schedule until July 26th. And be sure to tune in to Culture Express next Monday when we bring you exclusive coverage of the opening ceremony.