The opening show, staged on June 8 and 9, was a contemporary acrobatic production, The Butterfly Lovers, performed and produced by the Guangzhou Acrobatic Arts Troupe of China.
Featuring star acrobats Wu Zhengdan and Wei Baohua, and veteran choreographer and director Zhao Ming, the show premiered at the Guangzhou Opera House in March last year and won warm feedback from audiences.
The story of The Butterfly Lovers is well known among Chinese audiences. Combining ballet and acrobatic techniques, it is based on the tragic romance between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, known as "the Chinese Romeo and Juliet".When Wu performs a pirouette on the shoulder of Wei-her longtime partner and also her husband-and then another on his head, audiences are transfixed.
Wu said, "We've been making plans and canceling them after the successful premiere of the show last year. We planned to tour more than 30 cities, but only made it to about 10 of them.
"As an artist, I want to share my work with as many audiences as possible. Although we have staged virtual shows, we never feel the same thrill as when we interact with theater audiences."
In 2005, the couple stunned audiences with a version of Swan Lake. The fusion of dance and stunts earned the production global acclaim that resulted in several world tours and a total of 2,000 shows at venues including the Royal Opera House in London, the Kennedy Center in Washington and the Kremlin Ballet Theater in Moscow.
