Dancing on a changing stage: the Australian ballet to embark on ninth China visit

David McAllister with the Australian Ballet has always been looking forward to trips to China, in spite of the change of his roles. He had been dancing on the stage, while this time, the artistic director will bring his own work there.

The Australian Ballet announced recently that the company will tour to Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai in October 2018.

It will be their ninth visit to China since its establishment in 1962. The tour marks the international debut of Artistic Director David McAllister's production of Sleeping Beauty for audiences in Beijing and Shanghai with four performances respectively. In Nanjing of East China's Jiangsu province audiences will be able to enjoy the enduring romance of Maina Gielgud's Giselle.

"Sleeping Beauty is our newest production. It is grand and lavish," said David McAllister in an interview with Xinhua. "What I did was to make it shorter. It was four hours' long and I trimmed it down, and to have it focus on Aurora, the main character, so as to make it strong."

"Because it is big to set up, we will have Giselle in Nanjing," he added. Giselle is among their most popular dances brought overseas.

"The Australian Ballet is just like a bridge, connecting China and Australia in the past decades," said Yang Zhi, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Australia.

Australian Senator Mitch Fifield, deputy leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister for the Arts and Minister for Communications, confirmed the government's support for this important tour, which will contribute funding of 100,000 Australian dollars (about $74,399) toward tour costs.