"Arc," a contemporary dance show inspired by Tibetan sand mandalas, wrapped up its China preview in the capital city on Thursday night. And the show is set to tour the U.S. in February.

Produced by BeijingDance/LDTX, a Chinese dance company, it is a full-length work by Inner Mongolian artist Adiya.

"Initially, I watched an online video about Tibetan sand mandalas and was deeply impressed," Adiya said by way of explaining the background to the show. "It showed how lamas create an intricate graphic depiction of the universe out of colorful sand ... but then ritually dismantle it once completed, letting the sand return to its original form. I think the process symbolizes the transitory nature of life, showing that no beauty in the world can last forever."  

The production company's artistic director, Willy Tsao, said it's very common for artists to express their sentimentality through dance. "In fact, a lot of artists have this kind of sentimentality and they want to do something about life," he said. "I think it's a very common thing for art, especially for dance, because dance is always dealing with the moment. Of course, life consists of a lot of moments and I think the whole piece is impressive. It reflects the choreographer's visions of how he deals with lives."

For the upcoming U.S. tour, Adiya said he is really looking forward to seeing how new audiences will react. "American audiences may not be familiar with my idea as it originates from Buddhist doctrinal belief," he said. "But when it comes to the cycle of life, from birth to death, I think it will resonate with them. So, I'm interested in hearing what foreign viewers have to say about the show after watching it themselves."

And Willy Tsao says modern dance helps to achieve this interaction: "I think modern dance is a universal language. Everyone, no matter if you are Chinese or American or European or African, it is a very communicable way to do things like this." 

The show will tour the American cities of Philadelphia, Pasadena, Irvine and Dallas.