The Beijing Dance/LDTX is a very recent formation, but it has already managed to achieve a good international response. LDTX stands for Leidong Tianxia, meaning "Thunder Roars Under the Sky," a name that signifies the young company's desire for renewal. Founded in September 2005 by a group of choreographers and young Chinese dancers, the company is the first professional dance group in the country independent of the government. In addition to producing shows, it also engages in educational programs aimed at spreading contemporary dance in China. The artistic direction is in the hands of a key figure in Chinese dance: Willy Tsao, an artist connected to more than one guest company of Oriente Occidente. Tsao leads this group made up of fourteen dancers, assisted by Li Hanzhong, a former dancer and choreographer of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company.
The two pieces performed at the festival are signed by the deputy artistic director Li Hanzhong and Ma Bo, one of the dancers who founded the Beijing Dance/LDTX. The Cold Dagger, a work that has been well-received abroad, highlights the fierce technique and clear style of this group. Wide formations, underscored by the cello, feature black-and-white pieces in which calm, hieratic sections alternate with more dynamic tableaux, showcasing a sense of composition. All River Red, on the other hand, revives Stravinsky's 1913 masterpiece, The Rite of Spring, a cult title in dance that has captured the interest of great figures in choreography from Nijinsky to Massine, Maurice Béjart, Martha Graham, and Pina Bausch. The Beijing Dance/LDTX approaches it with courage, providing a version that reflects the path of modern Chinese dance, not without references to the West, but also driven by the desire to challenge itself. Large red cloths, moved like flags, evoke in their connection to The Rite the red slip of Bausch's chosen one, as well as the red of the Chinese revolution. "All River Red – reads the company’s program notes – is not a comforting fusion of East and West, but rather a direct and violent confrontation between those who adhere to tradition and those who are inspired toward renewal."
