As dusk falls in the city of Guiyang, Guizhou province, around 50 dance troupe members back stage are getting ready, and half an hour before the performance there's a lot of bustling in a secluded area off the stage and Cao Jinpeng, the host who is dressed up neatly, waits for the gong to announce the opening of the performance.

Dancer in the Guiyang Theater, Guizhou province.[Photo/gog.cn]

The show brings the culture of Guizhou up on stage and is considered a must-see item for tourists and for this particular performance the 26-year-old Dai Mingjuan, the lead dancer and already an "old" member of the troupe, is back among the costumes and props applying makeup on her lovely features.

Dai won an award in a high school dance competition and dance is an essential part of her life. She has played in leading role in "Shui Gu Liang" (Water Girl), since graduating from college five years ago.

Dai Mingjuan in the lead role in "Shui Gu Liang" (water girl). [Photo/gog.cn]

Another dancer, Fu Jiani, who is in the same dressing room as Dai, also has a great fondness for dance and comes from a musical family. Fu joined the troupe three years ago after graduating from Hubei University, then decided to stay in the pleasant city with people her own age and notes, "I'm not nervous because I've already gotten used to stage life."

For all the dancers, practice and performance are their life's routine. Now, at 5 minutes to curtain time, in their brightly colored ethnic costumes and thick makeup, the dancers, a bit tired, rush to the back of the stage, after all, "Without dance, we have no idea what to do."

With just 2 minutes left, Cao is at the side of the stage ready to appear and introduce the Guizhou culture that the people have come to see, and the show starts, with the spotlight casts on the host and the dancers in place.