A hands-on look at dancing

Choreographer Liu Yan, who has used a wheelchair since an accident while rehearsing for the Beijing Olympics, has released a book based on groundbreaking research on dance gestures made from the wrist up.

Dancer-choreographer Liu Yan was considered one of China's leading classical dancers before her vertebrae was severely injured during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which left her paralyzed below the waist.

Her peers had nicknamed her "the first pair of legs of classical Chinese dance" in reference to her refined technique.

Decades later, Liu has adjusted to using a wheelchair and is a Beijing Dance Academy professor.