Japan's Matsuyama Ballet Troupe will tour China with its signature work, The White-Haired Girl. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Chinese leaders, such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, watched the troupe's performance in Beijing (in 1958)," says Yin.

Zheng Yiming, who has worked with the troupe for a long time, says the ballet has three versions and during its upcoming China tour, the latest version－debuted in Tokyo in 2010－will be staged.

"With the connection between the two countries deepening, the ballet has been updated from the point of view of choreography, music and costume," says Zheng, a former dancer attached to the People's Liberation Army.

In the latest version, the audience can expect to see a number of ballerinas playing the role of Xi'er, in white wigs, to depict the character's suffering.

In 2009, the troupe launched a ballet training school in Beijing, bridging the cultures of the two countries as well as promoting classical ballet education. Zheng is the school president.

The famous Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita, who is the director of Matsuyama Ballet Troupe, will play the lead role in the ballet's upcoming China tour.

Morishita, 68, joined the troupe in 1971. She is married to the founding couple's son, Tetsutaro Shimizu, the troupe's co-director.

"I have been dancing with her about 13 years now. Her moves are very expressive and inspiring," Zheng says of Morishita. "She shows no sign of slowing down."

If you go

7:30 pm, May 19. Great Hall of The People, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

7:15 pm, May 23. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue, Shanghai. 400-106-8686.