It’s not easy to be apolitical about Tibet, what with all those famous people noisily taking up the case for freedom and independence. However, unless you are Christina Chan, it seems few people in Hong Kong have a stance on the conflict. It’s hardly surprising then that the team behind Chemistry – a series of modern dance pieces inspired by Tibet and put together by Guangzhou based independent choreographer Dian Liu – is steadfastly neutral.

Although the performance is part of a national project, Dancing to Understanding, which aims to promote peace between Tibetans and Han Chinese, producer Liu explains that the project is cultural, not political. “I recognise people will initially think about the political aspect,” she admits, but says her aim is more to inspire understanding and friendship between the two cultures.

“I have been aware of the ethnic tension in Tibet for a very long time and I have always felt we should learn more about Tibetans and their culture,” Liu says. “I believe dance is an effective vehicle that enables us to express our feelings and communicate with one another.”

This summer, Dancing to Understanding (an initiative funded by the Davis Projects for Peace) sent eight young Chinese choreographers to an intensive four-week Tibetan dance programme in Lhasa. To fully immerse themselves in the region’s culture, the dancers lived with Tibetan families, worked with the local community, and visited various parts of the plateau. From their experiences, they created pieces of contemporary dance to be shown at dance festivals across China.

Eagle Ho, a 2007 graduate of Hong Kong’s Academy for Performing Arts now living in Guangzhou, is one of the choreographers who spent time in Tibet. He says there, it was “easy to forget about the social pressures of life”. As with much of his other work Ho will use his piece in Chemistry to delve into issues of sex, gender and identity across the two cultures – which he developed by talking to members of the gay community there.

Asked whether he believes his work will make a difference, Ho replies, “We have a sense of responsibility to society. My hope is to be able to interact and communicate with my audience.” Besides performing, the independent choreographer also conducts workshops and classes in the Mainland, which will give him a platform to spread what he learned in Tibet. “Tibetans give me a sense of tranquillity,” he says, fondly. “You just want to live in the present and lead a simple life. You can even walk around and say hi to everyone, and smile!”

Although we won’t see Tibetan dance or music in his piece, the inspiration from Ho’s time in the troubled south-western region will translate as an emotional, if not necessarily sad, work on stage. “Usually, the audience [even] finds humour in my work,” he adds. Let’s just hope they take away a little bit more than a laugh. Samantha Leese