Ballet 'The Butterfly Lovers' staged in Hong Kong

While preserving the core story of the drama, they strove to bring innovation and breakthroughs to the dance presentation.

Hu and Mai both come from a background in traditional Chinese dance. In the production of this ballet, they made a bold attempt to combine traditional Chinese dance elements with ballet. They admitted that this posed a significant challenge for the choreographers and the dancers.

Xuan Cheng, principal dancer of Hong Kong Ballet, played the female leading role in this dance. She has played Juliet at home and abroad. This was the first time she played Zhu Yingtai.

"In my view, Zhu Yingtai was braver than Juliet. Throughout the story, she always tried to take control of her own destiny," Cheng said.

As the highlight of Hong Kong Ballet's 45th anniversary season, "The Butterfly Lovers" brought together a team of artists from Hong Kong, Macao, and the mainland, including Oscar-winning designer Tim Yip who handled the set design.

"Interpreting Chinese stories through ballet has always been an exploration of possibilities for me," he said. "I find it fascinating to navigate between Eastern and Western cultures."

"I have been exploring what else is possible in interpreting Chinese stories with ballet," Yip said, "I find it very interesting to navigate between Chinese and Western cultures."