[Photo provided to China Daily]

Liu Yangjie, a senior student at the academy, has been studying Samul nori, a Korean folk genre that combines music and dance, from Chinese teacher Chi Dongdong since her sophomore year.

Liu says that receiving instructions from a local inheritor has deepened her understanding of the art form. Especially for this year's project, the academy invited a representative dancer from South Korea to instruct the students.

"I feel that I can present the art form more accurately. It's more than just technique. As performers, we need to have the urge to present it from the bottom of our hearts, just like the inheritor," Liu says. "He (the dancer) has devoted over 40 years, nearly his entire life, to the art form, and I respect him very much."