Ukraine kicks up its heels in China

A variety of performances by Ukrainian musicians, dancers and artists will be presented to Chinese audiences in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Sino-Ukrainian diplomatic relations.

The show was kicked off by the Oleg Poliansky Piano Recital in early March.

Kiev-born Poliansky is the winner of numerous international competitions, including the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998 and the Cincinnati World Piano Competition in 1999.

Children's Ballet of Ukraine, which gathers more than 500 students aged 3-18 and has been staged around the world for almost 30 years, will bring classic ballets including Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella in May.

Audiences will also have the chance to enjoy the dance from the National Honored Academic Dance Ensemble of Ukraine P.P. Virsky in September at the National Center for Performing Arts.

Established in 1937 by famed dancer Pavel Virsky, the ensemble has been devoted to development and preservation of Ukrainian traditions and customs, as well as creation of works featuring the past and current life of the Ukrainian people.

The 103-year-old Odessa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet in Ukraine, one of the top three ballet groups in the former Soviet Union, will bring the classic ballet Swan Lake, the original version of which was staged in 1895 at the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater.

The Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, established in 1995, will come to China under the baton of Mykola Diadiura. The 27-year-old Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov will also join in the performance.

According to Chu Fenglei, the manager of Ningbo Russian Cyclone Cultural Communication Company, most of the Ukrainian artists have come to perform in China before.

He says that such performances are brought to China every year "because the Russian culture has heavily influenced Chinese people, the older generation in particular".

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn