Ballet performers dance around the outbreak in masks

Lu adds that the company will stick to its original plan of making further revisions to Bright Red Star, a show about the Chinese revolution, as well as relaunch The Lady of the Camellias, a production that premiered in 2019.

The Shanghai Ballet, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, is regarded as one of China's most prominent ballet companies.

The company started out as the performing team of the revolutionary ballet, The White-Haired Girl, which was created in 1966, before taking on the name Shanghai Ballet in 1979. It has since developed an extensive repertoire of Western classics and original Chinese productions.