Art beat in February

Take a deep breath and dance

How do we handle the pressure from real-life situations? For veteran choreographer Tong Ruirui, the answer is dancing, which gave birth to the contemporary dance drama, Let's Dance. Inspired by spontaneously dancing crowds in Temple of Heaven in Beijing every day, Tong focuses on urban people's lives in the workplace and tells a story of people facing up to the pressure from work and life and how they seek pleasure in dancing. Performed by actors from Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe, the production won the country's highest honor for dance, the Golden Award of the Chinese Dance Lotus Award in 2013.

7:30 pm, Feb 26 and 27. Opera House of the National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.

- Chen Nan

 Words of harmonious intent

Yinglian (couplets) as an independent art style has embodied rich aesthetics combining literature, calligraphy and decoration. It not only emphasizes carefully balanced wording, but also pays attention to being harmonious with its surroundings. Composing couplets achieves perfection by infusing cultural traditions with folk customs. A Lunar New Year celebration exhibition at the National Museum of China displays 69 pairs of couplets by leading scholars, such as Rao Zongyi, calligraphers, such as Ouyang Zhongshi and painters, including Han Meilin and Wang Mingming. Viewers get to appreciate the variations of yinglian art in different styles of xingshu (running script), caoshu (cursive script), zhuanshu (seal script) and lishu (clerical script).

9 am-5 pm, closed on Monday, until Feb 28. National Museum of China, east of Tian'anmen Square, 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.

- Lin Qi

Reflector's national tour

Beijing-based punk band Reflector will launch its 2014 national tour along with a new album, Our Songs. Founded in 1997 in Beijing, Reflector has been deeply influenced by bands like Green Day and NOFX. Their energetic live performance also enabled them to become one of the most popular bands at various music festivals and live music venues around China.

8:30 pm, March 22. 3 Floor of Tango Club, 79 Hepinglixi Jie (Street), Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6428-2288.