Two years after her injury, Liu set up a charity in her name to help disadvantaged children access art education, including free dance lessons.

During her mentoring of the children, she initially found them to be introverted and unable to execute with the confidence of young people with an "easier" childhood.

"They just couldn't. We didn't even start to move and were just standing, but within a few seconds, half of them started to look away," Liu says. "That sight will break your heart because you can sense their lack of confidence."

But six months of dance lessons changed all that, she adds, for the better. The children unconsciously smiled while looking at their teacher and waiting for their class to begin.

"When their bodies move, their hearts follow. Their smiles were more attractive to me than their dance moves. Every time I saw them smile, I cheered up. It was magical."

The smiles of her students drove her to launch an exhibition of photographs because she wanted to share her experiences with a wider audience.

Chen Mingsheng, the photographer of the exhibition, lived with the children for about a week to take the images. Chen says that before he met Liu's students, he wasn't sure how children would work as subjects.

But the outcome of his weeklong enterprise surprised him.

"They are so easy to please, even by something small. This was also a reminder to me that I should cherish what I have," Chen says.

In addition to running the charity, Liu was also able to find the time to study dance further.

She acquired a doctoral degree in dance theory in 2013, and now teaches at the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy, where she herself was trained.

She swims for an hour every morning to prepare for The Red Thread's tour of France in September. The piece, which concentrates on the upper body - especially the arms and hands - poses a huge challenge both physically and aesthetically to her as a classical dancer, she says.

"At one point during the rehearsal, I almost gave up. I didn't think I could do it," Liu says. "But at the same time, you always feel compelled to challenge yourself, which is also the message of the choreography. You encounter a difficulty and you start struggling with yourself. Once you go through it and do it, there will be another you, a better you."