Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Tianqiao Theater

China's national anthem was one of the most heard pieces of music at the Paris Olympic Games as Team China grabbed 40 gold medals, which means the national anthem "March of the Volunteers" was played 40 times. 

A dance drama staged at Beijing's Tianqiao Theater on Tuesday and Wednesday night tells more about how the anthem, with lyrics by poet Tian Han and music by Nie Er, was born and honors those who fought on the front during World War II against Japanese aggression in Northeast China.

"It takes us travel back to that moment when the anthem was created," Yang Xia, artistic director of the dance drama Ode to Hot-blooded Youth, told the Global Times on Tuesday. "Each time we hear it, we always feel the power and inspiration, especially when it was played during the Paris Olympics." 

In the 1930s, Tian, a passionate dramatist, met like-minded An E and Nie Er in Shanghai. With this as the creative background, Ode to Hot-blooded Youth tells the story of these three passionate young people who used their talents and passion to speak out for the working people and call for people to fight against Japan's invasion and push for national rejuvenation in a turbulent era.

Under their pen, "March of the Volunteers" was born. This song is like spring thunder, awakening "we who refuse to be slaves" to "roar defiance" and inspiring countless hearts to fight for freedom, independence and liberation.

Although this is not dancer Zhang Zihao's debut as Tian, each time he takes on the role is "a new and touching experience" for him. 

"I've played Tian in almost 60 performances so far," Zhang told the Global Times before the performance on Tuesday night. "Each time, I try my best to win acknowledgment from the audiences because of my sense of mission."

Tian, a young man born to a simple farming family in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, walked out of the countryside and tried to seek his dream with passion and talent. 

"Young people like Tian belonged to the 'post-1980' and 'post-1990' generations of their times," Yang ­added. "Their simple but great patriotic spirit set a model for contemporary young people, which is the original reason we started the dance drama."

The national anthem is a spiritual symbol of a country and the heroic story behind its birth is a spiritual force that inspires Chinese people.

It is a true challenge to interpret the anthem with a dance drama as one body language can be used. "But that doesn't mean it is impossible. The limitations of body language pushed us to find breakthroughs and innovate," show director Ma Bo told the Global Times. 

With confidence in the grand theme, a group of young people joined the cast and worked together to perfect every detail of the show with enthusiasm and creativity. 

From "post-1980" chief director and the "post-1990" executive director to the post-millennium dancers, young people have injected youthful vitality in the show.

In Yang's eyes, Ode to Hot-blooded Youth is not only a dance drama, but also a youth dialogue that travels through time and space. "Spanning 100 years, we hope to present the youthful passion of that era and the deep emotions for our motherland to every member of the audience in a dialogue with our ancestors," said Yang. 

The growth and awakening of Tian, Nie and An can "resonate with modern young audiences as the drama takes young people as its core."

In the artistic world of Ode to Hot-blooded Youth, the theme of the national anthem is its soul, and artistic means such as music, stage design, and costumes, show the passion and persistence of the creative team in the pursuit of art.

In order to portray the distinctive personality of this Changsha native, the team incorporated musical elements such as those from Hunan Opera and Changsha Tanci. Audiences cannot only feel the "spiciness of Hunan" through music, but also feel Shanghai's unique local culture.

Three mini stories around the three young people boost the story's development and enrich the portrayal of their life experiences. 

In 1930, Tian adapted and created a drama of the same name based on the French novel Carmen. In 1934, Nie and Tian jointly created China's first new opera Storm over the Yangtze River. In 1935, Tian participated in the movie Children of Troubled Times as a screenwriter. 

As the movie's theme song, the original song greatly encouraged Chinese soldiers and civilians during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

It was chosen as the national anthem in 1949, and was broadcast across the world as Chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The national anthem was revised in 1978. "The March of the Volunteers" was reaffirmed as the national anthem in 1982.