Behind the Curtain: Rambert returns to China after nearly 70 years with Peaky Blinders

After nearly seven decades, the renowned British dance company Rambert returns to China with Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, marking its first full-length production in the country since 1957.

Adapted from the global hit TV series Peaky Blinders, the production visited seven cities across China from early March to mid-April.

"We were the first European company to come," said Helen Shute, former CEO of Rambert. "It had a big imprint on the company ... from that moment on, I think the company was seen as a very international company. We started to attract dancers from different parts of the world."

Founded in 1926, the company is celebrating its centenary this year. Its ties with China date back to 1931, when Dai Ailian, dubbed as the mother of Chinese modern dance, studied with the company's founder, Marie Rambert.

"I think in a way China chose us, because there is certainly an appetite," said Shute. "It was a mutual agreement that this was a really exciting way to work together. And the response from the audiences has been just fantastic."

For Conor Kerrigan, one of the dancers who plays Tommy Shelby, this tour was his first visit to China.

"Seeing all the cities ... giving me a real full experience of what the Chinese culture is," he said, adding that he's touched by the supports from Chinese audiences. "I'm very proud that they can feel this connection with us."

During the tour, the cast presented dances from the production through flash mobs in shopping malls, and merged their dances with China's cultural sites.

"It's inspiring," said the dancer.

"China has beautiful stories that I would love to investigate, and maybe one day come back and create a work just for China," Benoit Swan Pouffer, artistic director of Rambert, told CGTN. "I love tradition and I think you have a lot of tradition in China."

Pouffer was dazzled by the technology he saw in China.

"What I've seen in China ... it's the future. In the hotels, we see robots, and we see a lot of things that I've never seen. I'm fascinated by this."

April 29 marks International Dance Day. For the artists, dance is a universal language that connect people around the world.

"We don't have to be from the same country, we don't even have to speak the same language, or believe in the same things," said Pouffer. "We understand each other, so that's for me the bridge between humans."

Shute believes that the role dance can play is reminding people, especially in a time where people might feel separated, that we're actually all exactly the same.

"I always encourage the audiences, not just watch dance but to do dance," said Kerrigan, adding that dance breach the language. "It's something that humans have been doing for a long time. So, let's continue."

Executive producer: Zhang Jingwen

Producer: Yang Sha

Director: Guo Meiping

Videographer: Niu Jiangchao

Graphic designer: Sha Yunjin, Zhu Shangfan