World famous ballet artists, including French dancer-choreographer Roland Petit, will gather at China's National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in late January to highlight the International Ballet Week.

The eight-six year old Roland Petit will fly to Beijing from Switzerland to join the week-long ballet "Sumptuous Meal" from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1.

NCPA will surprise the ballet master with a supreme award for his contribution to China's ballet, Zhao Ruheng, artistic director for NCPA and Head of the National Ballet of China said at a press conference on Thursday.

A press conference for the upcoming International Ballet Week is held at China's National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2008. (photo: CRI)

Besides Chinese ballet stars and Roland Petit, the center will also host a long list of International ballet performance groups, including Opera National de Paris, the Bolshoi, the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet and the Hamburg Ballet, added Zhao.

Zhao also introduced, as one of the most important activities of the First International Performance Season of NCPA, the International Ballet Week contains four performing parts.

Zhao Ruheng, artistic director for China's National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) as well as Head of the National Ballet of China, delivers a speech at a press conference for the upcoming International Ballet Week at NCPA in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, January 24, 2008.

It will debut with National Ballet of China's "Romeo and Juliet" on Thursday and Friday. On January 26 and 27, the First International Ballet Stars Gala will be staged. Then National Ballet of China will perform Roland Petit's 1973 Pink Floyd Ballet during the next two days and the show will end with an evening of International and Chinese Traditional, Folk and Contemporary Dance on February 1.

These performances will be longer than normal as the organizers would like to try their best to satisfy Chinese ballet fans, said Zhao.

Marianela Nunez (R) and Thiago Soares, Principal of the Royal Ballet of Britain, attends a press conference for the upcoming International Ballet Week at China's Grand National Theater in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2008.

(CRI Janaury 25, 2008)