Dance finds a digital stage

Young dancers are learning a new performance language as professional troupes bring traditional stage arts to audiences on their phones.

At the Guangzhou Song and Dance Theater's group livestreaming studio, 22-year-old dancer Qiang Yiting takes center position in a performance of Odes to Heroes.

Unlike on a traditional stage, where performers move across a wide space and audiences take in the overall choreography, she must constantly be aware of the camera, making sure her movements stay within the frame of a vertical smartphone screen.

Viewers on the other side of the screen can swipe away at any moment or react through real-time comments. Performers no longer have to wait until the final curtain call to receive feedback.

This is now part of Qiang's daily routine. From Monday to Saturday, Qiang and her fellow dancers take turns performing in livestreams lasting about six hours, featuring group dances, solo performances, improvisations and excerpts from classic dance dramas.

Many viewers have likened the format to "a mini concert", praising its lively atmosphere and variety of performances.

Qiang's experience is part of a broader shift across China's performing arts industry, as professional troupes explore how to adapt established stage productions for audiences accustomed to watching entertainment on their phones.

On June 25, Chinese short-video platform Douyin and the China Association of Performing Arts jointly launched an initiative encouraging professional performing arts troupes to bring classic stage productions to group livestreams. As of late June 2026, 57 State-owned performing arts troupes across China had launched regular group livestreams on Douyin, collectively staging more than 16,000 livestreams and attracting a cumulative audience of 320 million.

Odes to Heroes is one of the most popular performances by the Guangzhou Song and Dance Theater's group livestreaming studio, adapted from a dance drama of the same name staged by the theater. Inspired by Yingge dance, a national intangible cultural heritage tradition from Guangdong's Chaoshan region, the production combines elements of traditional dance, martial arts and theater.

Bringing such a traditional art form to smartphone audiences has been a new challenge for Qiang, who entered the livestreaming industry only a few months ago.