Qingdao Song and Dance Theater’s “Red Sorghum,” a dance drama based on Nobel laureate Mo Yan’s famous novel of the same name, was a late addition to the National Center for the Performing Arts’ spring program.

The NCPA, which usually releases its spring program in the preceding August, was persuaded to add the dance drama in November after the stage production took home top honors, as well as awards for choreography and directing, at the Wenhua Awards this year. It is only the third dance drama ever awarded and the first for the Qingdao Song and Dance Theater.

Set in a rural village in Shandong Province, the story is told from the point of view of a young man who reminisces about his grandmother, Jiu’er. The story explores love, freedom and social disputes through the tangled relationships between the widowed distillery owner Jiu’er and a local bandit, and later their fight against Japanese invaders.

NCPA Vice Director Deng Yijiang described the play as “a rare piece of work that has successfully enhanced the dramatic conflict and clarified the relationships between characters through body language.”