Pirouette in the city

In 2005, Petit was in Beijing working with the National Ballet of China as a guest choreographer and L'Arlesienne, along with two other works, Carmen and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, were staged at Peking University in November that year.

The Guangzhou Ballet, founded by former ballerina of the National Ballet of China, Zhang Dandan, in 1994, will bring Diana and Actaeon pas de deux, from the three-act ballet La Esmeralda, which was inspired by the novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, and the company's original contemporary ballet production, Winter, to the music of Franz Schubert's Winterreise.

"These Asian ballet companies combine the beauty of classical Western ballet with tradition of each country's culture," says Xu.

"So the audience can take the opportunity to enjoy the creativity, talent and artistry of these ballet companies."