Dancer Liu honored for life after injury

Dancer Liu Yan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of China's leading classical dancers, Liu Yan, received the Tara award at the annual Life Goes On gala in Vienna on Oct 15. Liu injured her vertebrae severely during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The 34-year-old had to bid farewell to the stage and adjust to life in a wheelchair after the injury, which left her paralyzed below the waist. She is the first Chinese to win the Tara award.

The charity gala, which was initiated by Olympic athlete Christian Rijavec in 2008, aims at honoring people "who, dealt with a stroke of fate, nevertheless cope with their lives and even perform extraordinary accomplishments".