In a groundbreaking exhibition at Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, two seminal figures in the world of choreography and contemporary art come face to face – not in person, but through a series of their works. 

One of them is from the United States and the other from China. The link between the two artists could be explored in the exhibition "Dance Only Exists When It Is Performed."

Photos, rehearsal notes, videos, posters, media reviews... these exhibits survey the practices of the two artists Yvonne Rainer and Wen Hui. Primarily trained in dance, both artists have worked closely with key creative figures in the fields of visual art, music composition and filmmaking. 

This is the first time Chinese audiences will take a comprehensive look at Yvonne Rainer's early dance and film work from 1961 to 1980. Born in 1934 in San Francisco and now based in New York, Rainer helped to redefine performance and dance. She focused on the body more as the source of everyday movements than emotion or drama.

Wen Hui is 26 years younger than Rainer but she has followed a similar pioneering path in Chinese contemporary dance theater. She graduated from Beijing Dance Academy and went for further study in the United States. In 1994, she co-founded Live Dance Studio in Beijing. For 25 years, Wen has been using theater as a means of social intervention. 

It is the first-ever exhibition in China that offers a panoramic view of a dancer's career and works. Although they come from different cultural backgrounds, the two artists have some inner links. 

"Wen Hui I know she danced with Ralph Lemon when she was studying in New York. And Lemon was also very influenced by Yvonne Rainer. Also, Wen Hui danced with David Thompson, who is currently somebody who performs with Rainer. So I think that there is a group of people across generations who are in very deep dialogue with each other, not just intellectually but through performance. Rainer is somebody who is an artist's artist. In another word, she is recognized as very very influential by other artists," Simon Leung, curator of "Introduction to Yvonne Rainer", said. 

"Chinese people maybe not be very familiar with Rainer. But she was a leading figure in postmodern dance. I felt tired of choreographing commissioned dances in a state-owned troupe so I went to New York. I needed my own voice to be heard. So when I came back to Beijing, I started Living Dance Studio," dancer and choreographer Wen said. 

Dance Only Exists When It Is Performed. Exhibition goers will be better able to understand this sentence when they see Yvonne Rainer's Trio A and Chair/Pillow, presented by a group of local dancers. 

Performances, dance workshops and academic conversations will be held at the museum before the exhibition concludes on November 24. 

When Yvonne Rainer poured her passion and inspiration into dancing and choreography, Wen was only a little girl. Years later, she turned to explore more possibilities in contemporary and visual art, just like Rainer. Regardless of the art forms, their concerns are the same – about women's issues, personal life and social changes.  

(Cover image via CGTN Photo)