"I was attracted to the clouds above me, which moved and changed quickly. It was a great experience of getting close to nature," says Tao, who was born and raised in Chongqing and began training in Chinese classical dance at 12. He founded his Tao Dance Theater in 2008. "If the floor, like the sky, was a canvas, the dancers would move like clouds," he adds.

He notes that the dancers of Cloud Gate Dance Theater have solid techniques. "To me, Cloud Gate is a model of contemporary dance, a troupe that speaks through its productions."

The training approach of the two companies are basically similar, which made the "exchange" easier than he had expected. The dancers of Cloud Gate receive training in areas like meditation, qigong, an ancient breathing exercise, and martial arts. For Tao, he trained his dancers to explore the possibility of physical movements on the basis of circling.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn