Wu Shanshan, who played the role of Li Ping'er, says she was worried when she read the script. "It's more challenging for female dancers. I was so nervous at the beginning."

The heavy breathing and the body contact with the male lead made her uncomfortable. Although choreographer Wang told her to relax and enjoy the dance, it took Wu six months before she could do that.

To make her dancers understand their roles better, Wang hired literature teachers to coach the dancers on their roles and tell them the stories in the background.

She also invited Oscar award-winning designer Tim Yip to create the costumes for the dance. Han Jiang, the producer and stage designer, used a palette of red, white, gold and black for each scene to reflect the emotions of each role.

"I like the last scene most, the death of Ximen Qing," says Han. "His life was full of greed and he loved women. I made the stage totally black and left a beam of light which followed him. Before he dies, he makes love to Pan Jinlian, and the whole dance ends with her solo.

"Our aim was to present a thought-provoking dance with good music, costumes and dancers. Sex is not the focus of the show," Han says.

When Wang started planning the production one and a half years ago, she was fully aware of the perception of the book as a gallery of explicit sexual chapters. In her extensive research, she found out much more about what attracted her in the first place: The social landscape of the time, which bears similarity to current society.

"It's true that a large part of The Golden Lotus has to do with sex, but it also focuses on other aspects such as lust, desire and jealousy. It's art and it connects with the audience," Wang says.

Wang's choreography in the 90-minute dance is intended to rouse the imagination of the audience and awaken its inner desires.

Jin Ping Mei was written against a background of a decaying society and Wang says that phenomenon is very similar to what is happening now.

"Maybe society today is even worse than what was depicted in the book. People these days are lured by money, and they will do anything to get what they want, without a moral bottom-line," she says.

Wang began dancing when she was nine. After winning the first of many international dance competitions in Paris in 1994, she decided to create her own body language.

She was resident choreographer for the National Ballet of China before she went on to study at the California Institute of Arts School of Dance. After her graduation in 2003, she was invited as guest choreographer at the New York City Ballet.

She became known internationally after collaborating with film director Zhang Yimou on the ballet adaptation of his film, Raise the Red Lantern. She was also one of the choreographers for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, directed by Zhang.

Wang is about to push the boundaries of modern dance in China further. Her company is already in rehearsal for their next year at the 2012 Arts Festival in Hong Kong, with two new works in collaboration with theater artist, Lin Zhaohua.

"I know I have been dancing on the edge, but it doesn't matter. It is definitely a lonely art in China now because modern dance is so young here. It takes time for people to understand and enjoy the art."

For Wang, it is a long, hard but happy road less traveled.