Welcome to Heartbeat, the show that gets to the centre of China's ever-changing lifestyle, but still manages to discover the country's rich cultural history. I’m your host Jules Page.

Do you fancy yourself as a singer, would you like to record a number one song? How about watching an exciting ballet, appreciating a contemporary Chinese painter or visiting a chocolate wonderland? Well on today’s Heartbeat we can do all this and more. 

"The Lady of the Camellias" by French novelist Alexandre Dumas Jnr. was the first western novel that was introduced to China. Numerous Chinese readers were moved by the tragic story. The novel was subsequently adapted for the stage after its first publication in 1848. The most familiar adaptation for Chinese people is the Italian opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. Last night, audiences in Beijing got the chance to enjoy another "Lady of the Camellias" ballet presented by Germany’s prestigious Hamburg Ballet. Yingying has the story.

Marguerite Gautier, a famous courtesan in Paris passed away in her home. An auction of her clothing and possessions is underway. Armand Duval, Marguerite's lover, appears on stage and the story flashes back to the happiest time in their lives.

The ballet edition of the Lady of the Camellias vividly portrays the characters' psychological world and skillfully depicts the dramatic plot. The excellent arrangement makes full use of dance and stagecraft, a surefire treat for the audience.
The Lady of the Camellias has been choreographed by the renowned John Neumeier. He has been the artistic director for The Hamburg Ballet since 1996. Eleven years ago, Mr. Neumeier once brought his ballet company to China with another classical work, A Midsummer Night's Dream. This time, the choreographer feels pleased to be invited by the National Center for the Performing Arts to grace the Beijing stage once again.

"Because wherever I was in the last 10 years, everybody was going to China this year. It's like a chorus. Every time I arrived in a company, they would say we're going to China. Everybody is going to China this year. I think it's something about the human destiny. And now I think China is in the wave, and we're all going up with the wave on the way to China."

As a choreographer with education both on classical ballet and modern dance, Neumeier has continually focused on the preservation of ballet traditions, while giving his works a modern dramatic framework. His idea of endowing classical ballet with modern elements has been well implemented in the three-act ballet: Lady of the Camellias, which made its premiere in 1978.

"I think this work, I have to say myself, has become a kind of modern classic. I think it's a modern classic for several reasons. For one, because it uses the classical technique but in a completely modern and very expressive way. I think it's a modern classic because the story itself is very touching. It combines aspects of romantic period. The decoration is very simple; the costumes however are very evocative of the romantic period. They make us dream of a time people dress in a beautiful way."

During the creation process, Neumeier was desperate to find the most complimentary accompanying music for the ballet. At first, he thought of using the music from La Traviata. But later he realized it was wrong, because the opera La Traviata of Verdi is a great work itself. He feels the ballet version cannot surpass the opera rendition if use the same music. Finally he gave up the music of Verdi but adopted piano works from Chopin and found it was an excellent combination.

"The idea in this case first came through the theme of the ballet; I was very inspired by the story, by this particular relationship of this story. I think that the parallel of the theme of the story, a women who is fighting a disease, who is fighting against death, who on the one side is celebrated and leads a very lively if not trivial live in a salon of Paris is exactly a parallel to the story of Chopin, who was ill, who was looking towards death, who led a life which was almost trivial and celebrated in the salon of Paris. And at the same time, who had in his music a base notes which so deeply and clearly express the main emotion of the story."

As one of the most important ballet performances in Beijing this season, The Lady of the Camellias has garnered much attention among the capital's dancing fans. And Neumeier's idea on rejuvenating the ballet tradition was echoed by Michael Kahn-Ackermann, director of the Beijing Office of Goethe Institute.

"The ballet faced the kind of crisis in the 20th century, becoming something like old fashioned and museum art. Ballet today is now a living art, and is an art accepted by new generations. It's something has a strong power to be a contemporary form of art. I hope that this maybe some kind of impact on Chinese culture which is facing the same crisis with their own cultural performing arts."

The show began delighting Beijing audiences last night and will continue until the 9th.