The classical ballet Swan Lake is a bright pearl on the art crown of ballet and wins the most favor from world's ballet lovers. In 1876, Tchaikovsky created the immortal music for Swan Lake. In 1895, performed by Imperial Russian Ballet and co-directed by Petipa and Ivanovo, the ballet was successfully debuted at Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Today, Swan Lake has become a universally and meanwhile the most frequently played ballet around the world.

In 1958, the ballet was first performed and brought onto stage in China by National Ballet of China (NBC) under the guidance of former Soviet Union expert Gusev, marking the ancient oriental country’s recognition of western ballet art. 50 years later, Swan Lake has become a household name in China. For the period in-between, in the spirit of brave innovation and with the commitment to show our audience the best, NBC has launched two versions of the ballet successively, mostly casted by young dancers and having received positive response. It ultimately finalized the version starred by Natalya Makarova the ballet genius.

For the contemporary ballet history, Natalya Makarova is a legendary figure enjoying the reputation of "the best ballet star within latest 50 years." Her version of Swan Lake, based on the original creation of Petipa and Ivanovo and adoption of partial paragraphs by Sir Ashton, director of the British Royal Ballet, is one of the most popular versions in the international ballet world. In May 2007, NBC brought the premiere of this version to Tianqiao Theater in Beijing with great success.

Synopsis
Prince Siegfried is fretting over the upcoming Queen Selection Ceremony, when he goes alone astray into the remoteness of a forest where a piece of mysterious lake lies with moonlight all over. He stops and sees a swan swimming past across the lake. Just as he is nocking, the swan changes all of a sudden into a beautiful girl. She comes up and tells the prince her mishaps. She had been a princess named Odette before she was cursed, with her partners, to become swans during the day and change back at night. Only love could break the spell. After hearing the story, the prince decides immediately to announce Odette as his bride in the Queen Selection Ball. However, the demon sends her daughter, the black swan in the disguise of Odette to the Ball. The prince finds him cheated and runs to the swan lake. Odette forgives the prince. Yet she knows death would be the only way to save them. Therefore, the swan lake becomes their Garden of Eden and the two young people stay together for ever. The devil's forces are eventually destroyed and Odette harvests eternal love with the prince...

National Ballet of China
National Ballet of China (NBC), the only Chinese national ballet company was founded in 1959. Pyotr Gusev, the celebrated Russian ballet master laid a solid foundation of classical ballet for the company. Today, in its repertoires, there are dozens of full length ballets, including Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, La Sylphide, Sylvia and others classical ballets. In the past 20 years, especially since the 1990s, the company has staged many contemporary works of ballet such as Serenade, Etude, Four Last Songs, Rite of Spring and also modern dances.

National Ballet of China has successfully utilized ballet- an art form from the west- to depict the lives of the Chinese people. The Red Detachment of Women has become a classic is known around the world; Yellow River, Butterfly Lovers and Raise the Red Lantern are appreciated repertories as well. There outstanding ballets established a foundation for creating a ballet style uniquely Chinese.

NBC 50th Anniversary Series
Ballet "Onegin" on August 19 – 22, 2009  19:30
Ballet "Sylvia" on December 01 - 02, 2009  19:30
Ballet "Penoy Pavilion" on December 08 - 09, 2009  19:30