Art beat in January

Cross-Straits music with Mahler

The China Philharmonic Orchestra and Taiwan conductor Lu Shao-chia (pictured) will join hands for the first time in Beijing. Lu, who is the current music director of National Symphonic Orchestra of Taiwan, will lead the mainland orchestra in a performance of Symphony No 9 by Gustav Mahler, the last symphony the great composer completed between 1908 and 1909. The Taiwan-born German-based conductor, who adores Mahler and considers Symphony No 9 as the heartbeat of the composer, will present the masterpiece.

7:30 pm, Jan 18. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6559-8285, 010-6559-8306.

Shows for kids

A series of performances, titled Classic Chinese Stories in Your Pocket, continues on weekends in Beijing through the end of January. Presented by China National Theater for Children, the shows will be based on a family, who use the philosophies from classical Chinese stories to solve problems they encounter and to educate children, such as the stories Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant and Kong Rong Shares Pears.

10 am. Jan 11 and 12, Jan 18 and 19. Fourth floor of China National Theater for Children, No 64, Donganmen Dajie (Street), Dongcheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

ABBA classics keep coming

Celebrating timeless hits from the pop group ABBA and hot on the heels of the Broadway Musical Mamma Mia!, Dancing Queen is a theatrical production featuring a dynamic cast of singers and dancers, glittering costumes and dazzling choreography. It is produced by David King from the United Kingdom, whose other major works include Spirit of the Dance, Man in the Mirror and Bohemian Rhapsody. It's guaranteed to have everyone dancing, singing and swinging in the aisles to the songs Money Money Money, Dancing Queen, Voulez Vous, Waterloo and many more. It also includes fabulous party classics from the 1970s, and a dazzling compilation of highlights from the iconic film Saturday Night Fever.

7:15 pm, Jan 18-19. Shanghai Oriental Art Center-Opera Hall, 425 Dingxiang Lu (Road), Pudong New Area, Shanghai. 021-6854-1234.

-Zhang Kun