A ballet version of “Red Sorghum” performed at Qingdao Broadcast & Television Theater July 14 thrilled Mo Yan, the Nobel Prize-winning author of the book for which the ballet was named.

Though Mo said he could not fully evaluate the performance after just one viewing, he said he was “thrilled” by it.

Qingdao Song and Dance Theater purchased rights to“Red Sorghum” in 2011, before Mo won the Nobel Prize.