Composer's memories help shape the future

Now a composer, he continues to picture his music in his head. His latest album, See, released by the Chinese division of Universal Music Group on March 22, features 21 compositions for a dance production (also titled See) that was co-directed and performed by leading dancer Tang Shiyi. On March 22, Xue took on the role of conductor when the production was staged at Tsinghua University.

He says that after Tang and her co-director Zheng Zihao approached him in the summer of 2022, he was intrigued by the project, which was inspired by the grasslands of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Xue drove to Hohhot, the capital of the autonomous region, and out to the grasslands, where he recorded Mongolian folk music, including khoomei, an ancient throat-singing technique, and performances of the horse-headed fiddle, a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument.

In addition to the music, he was also impressed by the natural scenery.

"When I walked on the grasslands, I was attracted by their vastness. When I looked up into the blue sky, the clouds seemed so low that I could catch them with my hands," Xue says. He then turned those feelings and the beautiful scenery into music.

This is not the first time Xue has composed music for a dance drama. Since 2021, he has been music director for the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater.

"It is a rewarding experience working with dancers because they visualize my music on the stage through their movements," Xue says, adding that he had also worked with Tang before.

The 33-year-old dancer-choreographer, trained to become a traditional Chinese dancer and graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy, is now the principal dancer at the China National Opera &Dance Drama Theater. She has won many major awards, including the Taoli Cup, the most prestigious honor for young professional dancers in China, and has a large fan base among dance lovers in the country.