Dancers from the TAO Dance Theater perform 9 and 7, two of choreographer Tao Ye's creations. His latest work 9 will premiere at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Nov 3. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The studio of TAO Dance Theater is in Beijing's northeast suburbs. It is off the highway and takes a 10-minute drive across farmland to get to it.

The group's dancers who need a lot of space, but cannot afford the high rents in town, gather in a village called Hegezhuang.

The TAO Dance Theater uses a two-story house as its rehearsal facility.

Tao Ye, founder and choreographer of the group, lives in a house some 30 meters away.

Sporting a black T-shirt and black linen harem pants, the bespectacled Tao, 32, does not look like a typical dancer, let alone a choreographer who has captured global attention as a radical new presence on China's burgeoning contemporary dance scene.

Now, he is "struggling" to finalize his latest work 9, which will premiere at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Nov 3.