25-year-old Xu Yan is a ballet dancer at the National Ballet of China.

She trains six days a week from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and even longer in the afternoon. This is the norm in her life. All the classes and rehearsals are in preparation for over a hundred performances each year. The ballet piece "Jewels," with its shows ended this month, saw her and her classmates shin on stage. Xu Yan was one of the leading roles. "Jewels" is a three-act ballet created by American dancer and choreographer George Balanchine.