BEIJING, October 7. /TASS/. A gala concert by the Bolshoi Ballet Company has kicked off its tour of China. The performance is being held at the Chinese capital’s premier cultural venue, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, a TASS correspondent reports.

Speaking to TASS ahead of the premiere, Beijing resident Chen said she had come to the ballet with a friend and her 14-year-old daughter.

"We decided to come because the company has such a strong lineup, with many of our favorite dancers performing," she said, citing Bolshoi principal dancer Yelizaveta Kokoreva as an example.

"My daughter has also been studying ballet since primary school, so she really appreciates the different variations, including pas de deux and many other extremely complex movements performed by the Bolshoi company," Chen added.

"My daughter started training when she was three or four, so it has been nearly ten years now. She is very familiar with both the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters," Chen said.

The Beijing resident noted that she plans to attend two Bolshoi Ballet performances during the company’s stay in the Chinese capital. In addition to the gala premiere, she has already purchased tickets for a performance of Swan Lake on October 11.

The box office at the National Centre for the Performing Arts told TASS that nearly all of the more than 2,000 tickets for the premiere had been sold. Ticket prices ranged from 280 to 1,280 yuan ($40-190).

The Bolshoi Ballet’s China tour runs from October 7 to 25, with performances in three cities - Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. The Shanghai engagement is part of the 25th Shanghai International Arts Festival and will be held at the Shanghai Culture Square Theatre.

Audiences will see a total of 14 performances, including gala concerts and productions of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote, and Divertissement, a dance suite featuring highlights from the classical repertoire, including the Grand Pas from Paquita, with music by Ludwig Minkus and Edouard Deldevez and choreography by Marius Petipa.

The gala concerts will feature leading Bolshoi Ballet soloists, including Maria Vinogradova, Alena Kovaleva, Yelizaveta Kokoreva, Eleonora Sevenard, Artemy Belyakov, Dmitry Smilevsky, Igor Tsvirko, Arina Denisova, Maria Koshkareva, Alexey Putintsev, Denis Zakharov, Yaroslavna Kuprina, Yelizaveta Kruteleva, Darina Moseyeva, Daniil Potaptsev, and Anastasia Smirnova.

Performances in Beijing and Nanjing will feature the Beijing Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavel Sorokin. In Shanghai, the Bolshoi Ballet will perform with the Taid Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alexey Bogorad.