Local audiences will be able to watch more shows than ever before at the October 18-November 18 Shanghai International Arts Festival, organizers announced yesterday.

More than 150 performances (of 69 shows) from home and abroad will be staged at local theaters before and during the festival, a record for the five-year-old gala, which held 140 performances (of 42 shows) last year.

And this year's festival will witness the largest number of international shows. About 30 of the 53 shows during the festival will be by overseas groups.

"But we care more about the quality of performances than the number," said Chen Shenglai, festival president.

The festival has invited famous maestros and top performing groups, such as conductor Christoph Eschen-bach, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg and cellist Mischa Maisky.

Dance shows will be a highlight of this year's festival. The opening and closing ceremonies will feature local dance drama "Farewell My Concubine" and Argentina's hit dance show "Tanguera" (Women in Tango), respectively, while the Irish tap dance show "Riverdance" will be staged on October 17 as a prelude to the fete.

Four dramas and traditional opera plays staged by domestic troupes will pay homage to writer Ba Jin, who will celebrate his 100th birthday on November 25.

The plays are all adapted from Ba's novels and feature top Chinese artists.

Meanwhile, two international competitions in piano and magic, the sixth Asia Music Festival and a Russian culture week will also be held.

"We hope to make this festival a grand gathering of international and Chinese stage productions as well as a 'real festival' for ordinary people," said Xue Peijian, secretary general of the festival's organizing committee.

On November 17, artists will organize a carnival for audiences in Changfeng Park amid a backdrop of Italian Baroque luminous sculptures.

(eastday.com September 10, 2003)