Dancing through dreams and desire: an everlasting tale of love, longing and liberation.

An ethereal vision brought to life through pure movement, Chinese dance production Dream in Peony Pavilion pays tribute to this classic Chinese love story in a hazy, surreal style that perfectly evokes its theme of romantic dreams coming true.

Featuring six star dancers and a 30-strong cast from the Suzhou Song and Dance Theatre, this is the latest work from one of Mainland China's most sought-after new-generation choreographers and directors. Li Xing is the winner of numerous accolades including a Wenhua Award, China's top performing arts prize, and his previous hits include A Dream of Red Mansions (2022). When Dream in Peony Pavilion premiered in Suzhou in April 2025, tickets for each performance sold out within an hour.

The production is based on Tang Xianzu's celebrated Ming dynasty play The Peony Pavilion (1598), which tells the story of Du Liniang falling in love with a young scholar in her dreams, but she wastes away and dies as she longs for him. Later, the scholar Liu Mengmei finds her self-portrait and sets the stage for a romance against all odds.

Dream in Peony Pavilion brings all of the play's 55 scenes to life in daring duets and ensemble dances. Its dramatic mise-en-scène showcases floating, diaphanous costumes, swirling mist and a dramatic interplay of light and shadow. The section of the stage representing the pavilion extends out into the audience, immersing festivalgoers in a rarefied, poetic world of improbable, eternal romance.