S. Africa joins forces with Chinese ballerinas for new Swan Lake

Johannesburg, April 18 (People’s Daily Online) — “We want to show the world what is happening currently in South Africa, that white, black, and colored dancers can come on stage together and perform spectacularly. When so many things are going wrong, there are also wonderful ways of celebrating diversity of our country,” said Joburg Ballet CEO Dirk Badenhorst last night, in the premiere of 21 joint-performances of Swan Lake.

The combination of Joburg Ballet of South Africa, Liaoning Ballet of China, as well as guest stars from Cuba and the US brings together an impressive 80 dancers for the grandest production of Swan Lake yet seen in SA.

Reciprocating Joburg Ballet's visit to China for the “Year of South Africa” in 2014, 21 dancers from the Liaoning Ballet are symbolic of the 21 years of democracy being celebrated this year in SA.

As Chinese Ambassador Tian Xuejun revealed, this is also the first highlighted China-South Africa cultural exchange activity ever since the Year of China kicked off in SA last month.

The joint-performance is supported by China's Ministry of Culture and SA’s Department of Arts and Culture.