Lucia Lacarra, the superstar of the Bavarian State Ballet, performed the classic pas de deux in Swan Lake with her husband, Marlon Dino, as the first performance of the opening gala. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Feng Ying, head of the National Ballet of China, declared the ballet season open and delivered an opening speech. She gave thanks to the Chinese Ministry of Culture, National Art Foundation and the local government of Xicheng district for supporting the ballet season, and stressed that Chinese ballet troupes will keep performing and lead to more cooperation with their international colleagues.

To the accompaniment of a soothing adagio, Lucia Lacarra, superstar of the Bavarian State Ballet, performed the classic pas de deux from Swan Lake with Marlon Dino, her partner and husband. Ruslan Skvorsov and Evgenia Obraztsova, principal dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet, performed a brilliant piece from the classical ballet, The Sleeping Beauty.