For a long time, Yang has been known for her choreography and solo dance performances. But returning to her hometown in Yunnan, Yang found that "the simple and unadorned art form that should be cherished did not attract much people's attention.

"The folk dance is in imminent danger and that makes me very worried," she said, adding: "At that time the idea of featuring a large-scale folk dance just welled up in my heart."

Yang said that at the very beginning she didn't really pay much attention to the outcome of the dance. But she firmly believes that the ethnic folk dance that has been passed on and developed for thousands of years must have its own unique charm and glamour. The key issue is what the choreographer will choose from this dance treasure trove.

"I don't know if I can stop the fading away of this precious art form among the people in Yunnan, but I am at least endeavoring to demonstrate the essence of the art form and tell people that such an excellent art form once existed."

Yang spoke of her original intention of creating "Dynamic Yunnan" with touching anxiety about the fate of folk art.

Talking about the contemporarily prevailing "avant-garde folk dance" Yang expressed her clear aversion: "I don't like those who wear tights to perform Tibetan dance and high-heel shoes to perform folk dances because they are different and you can't just scramble them together. I don't know much about the enigmatic theories at the academies, but my criteria for dance is very simple: No artificial affections and no impurities for originality."

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