The Australian Ballet tours China this month as part of the National Centre for Performing Art's Dance Festival and the Shanghai Performing Arts Festival. The Australian Embassy Beijing and Australian Consulate General Shanghai are proud to support the tour, and to host receptions for the Australian Ballet in both Beijing and Shanghai.

For this tour, the Australian Ballet made the bold decision to bring not just one, but two full-scale productions and a mixed program performance to China this year, for their eighth tour to China. This is no small undertaking, with 12 sea containers and 115 people in the touring party.

The Ballet performed the China premiere of Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake to sell-out crowds. In 2001, Graeme Murphy was approached to create a new version of Swan Lake to mark The Australian Ballet's 40th anniversary in 2002. Since then it has been performed over 170 times, and has been critically acclaimed in London, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo and New York.

In Beijing, Swan Lake was performed with a local orchestra, the Orchestra of the National Ballet of China, conducted by The Australian Ballet's Music Director & Chief Conductor Ms Nicolette Fraillon. Shanghai-born, Sydney-based violinist Mr Jun Yi Ma has been engaged as Concertmaster for this tour.

Following the performances in Beijing, the Ballet will travel to Shanghai to perform Cinderella and a mixed program at the Shanghai Performing Arts Festival.

The Australian Ballet's commitment to building lasting relationships in China dates back to their first tour in 1980 as the first major ballet company to tour to China after the Cultural Revolution. Since then, The Australian Ballet has regularly toured and collaborated with Chinese partners. 2015 marks the eighth full company tour. The last visit was in July 2014 during which The Australian Ballet's principal dancers performed with the Shanghai Ballet at the Grand Theatre.