Chinese Acrobatic Swan Lake 30th July - 2nd August at The Lowry

Tickets are expected to sell out quickly for the July UK premiere of The Guandong Acrobatic Company's reimagining of one of the greatest classical ballets of all time.

The Guandong Acrobatic Company’s extraordinary Chinese Acrobatic Swan Lake - in which Black Swans dance on high wires and the Swan Princess dances on pointe on her partner’s head - has created a worldwide sensation.

In this fresh and original adaptation of Swan Lake, a European prince falls in love with a Chinese swan, and performers use acrobatics and their very considerable talents as classical dancers to tell the story.

Pole balancing, jumping through fire hoops, rope walking, ball walking and jujitsu are all seamlessly woven into the story, and there is constant blurring of performance styles, including not only ballet and acrobatics but also elements of Peking Opera.

Directed by Guangzhou Acrobatic Company’s director Ning Genfu and choreographed by former Hong Kong Ballet principal dancer Zhao Ming, the production grew out of a desire to bring the traditional performing art out of the circus tent and onto the stage. It was created as a co-production with Shanghai City Dance Company.

The Chinese Acrobatic Swan Lake includes scenes in which the White Swan dances on pointe on top of the Prince’s head and shoulders and another in which the famous dance of four little swans is transformed into a performance of four little frogs, played by men who do the entire dance on their arms.

The incredible pas de deux between Wei Baohua's Prince and Wu Zhengdan's White Swan has made the couple – husband and wife in real life – into international stars.

The production proved a hit at its Premiere in Beijing in 2006 and has since thrilled audiences worldwide, from Moscow to New York.

The impresario Victor Hochhauser presents the Company’s first ever UK tour which visits Salford, London and Nottingham for a three-week tour in the summer of 2008.

30 July – 2 August                   The Lowry, Salford

4 – 9 August                              Royal Opera House, London

13 – 16 August                         Theatre Royal, Nottingham