Shanghai Ballet to bring its Swan Lake on tour in US

Shanghai Ballet will make its debut at the Lincoln Center in New York with four performances of Swan Lake from Jan 17 to 19.

The 108-piece touring team left Shanghai for its US tour on Jan 10. After New York, the company will head to Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky to present four shows of an original Chinese ballet production, The Butterfly Lovers.

In New York, the orchestra of the New York City Ballet will play live music accompaniment for the performance of Swan Lake.

Choreographed by Derek Deane, Shanghai Ballet's Swan Lake features 48 swans compared to the usual 16 or 28. Since its premiere in 2015, the ballet has been shown dozens of times in Europe.

Presenting a repertoire of classical ballet and an original production of a Chinese tale, Shanghai Ballet hopes to "present the strong capabilities and artistic style of our company to the sophisticated audiences in the US," according to Xin lili, director of Shanghai Ballet.