ABT Returns to Shanghai With 'Swan Lake' as Arts Festival Finale

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is returning to Shanghai after a three-year absence. Its "Swan Lake" will serve as the closing performance of the 25th China Shanghai International Arts Festival on Sunday evening at the Shanghai Grand Opera House.

This production of the classic ballet features live orchestral accompaniment, with ABT principal conductor Charles Barker and guest conductor Martin West sharing the podium, joined by the Jiaxing Tide Philharmonic Orchestra.

Two-time Emmy Award-winning set and costume designer Zack Brown has devised intricate and meticulously coordinated backstage transitions for the sets, allowing the story to move between a pastoral corner of a village, an opulent court ballroom, and a Gothic lakeside scene filled with branches and rock formations.

Four pairs of ABT principal dancers will rotate through the performances. Among them, principal dancer Chloe Misseldine previously met Shanghai audiences as Myrtha in "Giselle." In "Swan Lake," she will dance the dual roles of Odette/Odile in the opening and closing performances.

Notably, Misseldine's mother, Chen Yan, is also a dancer. A graduate of the Shanghai Dance School, she was one of the first international exchange students to study at the San Francisco Ballet School.

The dancer lineup also includes two soloists of Chinese descent, Fang Zhongjing and Li Fangqi. Fang grew up in Shanghai and trained in ballet for seven years at the Shanghai Dance School. She performed for local audiences in July's ballet stars gala at the Shanghai Grand Theater.

If you go

Date: November 12-15, 7:30pm; November 14, 2pm

Ticket: 180-1,280 yuan

Venue: Shanghai Grand Opera House 上海大歌剧院

Address: 1 Yongzhan Road 咏展路1号