The production's visual language reinforces that intensity.
Designed by Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip, the stage features installations by Liu Beili, including thousands of suspended pairs of scissors that shift above the performers, creating a constant sense of danger.
On one side of the stage, a paper-cutting artisan remains visible throughout the performance, crafting symbolic shapes tied to the unfolding narrative. The presence of this traditional craft adds a quiet counterpoint to the larger spectacle.
In keeping with Peking Opera conventions, Xiang's concubine is portrayed by a male dancer. As the story reaches its climax, the stage fills with vast cascades of red feathers — a striking visual metaphor for blood, sacrifice and loss.
From the Chinese folk art of paper-cutting to the costume design and choreography that borrow from traditional Peking Opera, Yang "adopted wide-ranging elements of Chinese culture ingeniously, and gave Under Siege a strong Eastern essence and contemporary avant-garde temperament", reads a review by Xuan Jing for the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily.
Yang has explored digital innovation, including dance video projects using artificial intelligence, but she remains firm about the value of live performance.
"Technology can create impressive effects, but real experience cannot be replaced in a live dance show," she says.
For her, the physical immediacy of dance is essential. "People want to see real combat, where each strike of the fist hits hard on human flesh."
Also, the simple and strongly expressive stage design plays an important role during international tours, Yang says.
The production has performed in theaters old and new, on stages of various sizes. The full set of props can conveniently fit into three standard container trucks, which is cost-efficient for international transportation, according to Wang Yanwu, the producer of the show.
Yang, now 67, continues to shape China's dance landscape.
Born in Yunnan province, she rose to prominence with her 1986 work Spirit of the Peacock.
She later created Dynamic Yunnan, a large-scale production featuring local folk artists such as singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, which has been performed more than 7,000 times since 2003.
