A performance featuring dancers and humanoid robots is staged on America's Got Talent, a popular US television talent show, in September.

Fang Zhenghua arranges the costume of a robot before a rehearsal for the show.

CHENGDU — A jade pendant bearing a small golden Sanxingdui mask rested against dancer Wu Yufei's chest as he stepped onto the stage of the America's Got Talent (AGT) finale. Commissioned by his wife, this piece of home was his lucky charm as he wowed the audience.

At the finale, the 27-year-old from Sichuan province in southwestern China shared the stage with humanoid robots made by Unitree, performing in a fusion of robotics, inkwash aesthetics and contemporary stage performance.

"Robots are not merely technological achievements, but they can also be creative partners on stage and a new medium for artistic expression," said Fang Zhenghua, the Chengdu choreographer who directed the team's performances.

Wu said their experience in the United States has been genuinely heartwarming. He and Fang showcased not only advances in humanoid robot technology, but also young people's vision of the relationship between technology and humanity, adding that audiences are incredibly enthusiastic.

At their audition, Wu performed alongside machines that danced and flipped in time with the music. The act received a unanimous "yes" from all four judges.

By the Sept 8 quarterfinals, Wu and the robots were performing martial arts alongside human dancers, kicking and flipping across the stage.

Judge Howie Mandel imagined a martial arts version of the Will Smith film I, Robot and predicted it would be "the most viral moment we're going to have this season". Actress Sofia Vergara pressed the Golden Buzzer, sending the team directly to the Sept 22 final.

For Wu, however, some of the most memorable exchanges happened away from the machines.

This marked his fourth trip to the US. He had met several American dancers from the East Coast to the West Coast on past trips, and they made dance videos together on the streets, capturing the fun times they shared.

"Dance is a universal language," he said.

When he made it to the AGT finale, some of those friends reached out on social media to wish him luck. He also received encouraging messages from local viewers he had never met.

"Even though we come from different countries and speak different languages, they sincerely wished me well in the competition," Wu said. "That stayed with me."

Wu grew up visiting the Sanxingdui Ruins, a site associated with the ancient Shu Kingdom dating back some 3,000 to 4,500 years. He said visiting the site was "like going to a park". During the contest, he brought one of those familiar faces across the Pacific, jokingly calling it a "mysterious force from the East".

For Fang, inspiration also comes from familiar stories and everyday life. Over the years, his team has incorporated elements such as Sichuan opera face-changing, the traditional Chinese composition A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, and Three Kingdoms (220-280) stories into the performances.

For the finale, choreographer Fang wanted to share a Chinese aesthetic that overseas audiences might be less familiar with than kung fu. Water sleeves offered one way to do that, with robots becoming partners in expressing an old art form.

Wu's appearance came in a year when American audiences encountered Chinese creativity in a variety of settings. In July, Chinese artists joined the Hollywood Film Music Orchestra for a Black Myth: Wukong concert in Los Angeles, while Lincoln Center expanded its previous Shanghai Day celebration into Chinese Arts Week. September brought Chinese dance dramas, including Dream of the Red Chamber, to New York.

On the final AGT stage, flowing sleeves and humanoid robots brought a bit of China to American viewers. Friendship also became part of the story Wu and his performers would carry home.

XINHUA