"The Butterfly Lovers," a dance drama based on a traditional Chinese folk tale, pleased Beijing's audience Tuesday night at the National Center for the Performing Arts. This time, the love story was told in classical Chinese dance by students from the Beijing Dance Academy.

Known as the Chinese "Romeo and Juliet," "The Butterfly Lovers" is a traditional Chinese folk tale – recounting the story of two young lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, who strived to be together in life but fail, and become two butterflies after their deaths, to stay with one another for eternity.

The ancient story is breathing a new life thanks to dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy's Classical Chinese Dance Department, who delivered a fresh take on the romance through a full-length classical Chinese dance performance.

The show was directed and choreographed by Li Hengda, who is dedicated to introducing the traditional Chinese dance style to the world: "In ballet, we have Swan Lake and Romeo & Juliet. But nobody knows much about classical Chinese dance. The art not only benefits the Chinese people, I think it's universal, it's for the world," the director said.

And the international audience also got the chance to experience the charm of classical Chinese dance. The show toured to four cities in North America two months ago. 

Pang Dan, artistic director of the show, said: "Dance is one of the most universal languages in international cultural exchanges. It has always been the academy's mission to help promote Chinese culture overseas." 

And for lead actress Sun Can, one of the 45 students on stage, the show was the very beginning of her dance career: "I was chosen to perform in the show since my first semester. For us students, we rarely have the chance to get involved in such a large scale dance... So I read a lot of books and video materials about the story, tried my best to present the character's inner struggles," Sun told CGTN.

The show was one of many performances presented at the NCPA's 2019 Chinese Art School Week – an annual event to celebrate school art from all over China.