Rehearsal of the new production Lily at Shanghai Ballet. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shanghai Ballet is working on a new dance theater production adapted from a battlefield story during the War of Liberation (1946-49).

The short story named Lily was written by Ru Zhijuan in 1958, and tells about a young military nurse's brief encounter with a soldier and a peasant woman as they were on a mission to borrow blankets from villagers during the war.

Commissioned by the municipal publicity administration, the production will feature the combination of Chinese folk dance elements and the classical ballet. It is expected to premiere next year.

Rehearsal of the new production Lily at Shanghai Ballet. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wang Anyi, a renowned novelist in Shanghai and daughter of Ru, adapted her mother's story for ballet theater. "I am grateful that so many years after my mother's death in 1998, people still remember this story that she wrote at a fairly young age."

It is a youthful story featuring the emotional contacts and sparkles between the three people, full of passionate and truthful love in the shadows of the war, said Xin Lili, director of Shanghai Ballet.

Rehearsal of the new production Lily at Shanghai Ballet. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Mao Dun, the writer-turned minister of culture, praised the story as "simple and rich at the same time". Excerpts of Lily used to be included in the school textbooks in China.

According to Wang Ge, choreographer of the production, the greatest challenge in his work was to retain the fresh and authentic tone of the original story, and present the signature elegance and refined style of Shanghai Ballet at the same time.

Xin Lili, director of Shanghai Ballet, talks about the new dance theater production of Lily. [Photo provided to China Daily]