STAGE
Russian style: The Russian Red Flag Song and Dance Ensemble will come to Beijing and give several shows, displaying both Russian songs and dances, as well as Western style dances, from Broadway and France.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 5

Place: The Great Theatre of Nationalities, west of Xidan Area

Tel: 6602-2530

Lights of Broadway: A song and dance spectacular entitled the "Spirit of Broadway" choreographed by David King comes to Beijing, performed by American artists.

Some 20 musicals of the 20th century that have been staged over the past 25 years or so on Broadway, including "Chicago," "42nd Street," "The Phantom of Opera," "Evita," "Cats" and many others, will be highlighted with selections of songs and dance numbers from the successful musicals.

Although performed over 10,000 times, this will be the show's Chinese debut, displaying the charm and glamour of Broadway musicals first hand.

Time: 7:30 pm, until February 7

Place: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 8589-5049, 8580-3789

Russian ballets: Russian National Ballet Theatre will present five ballets including the traditional ballets "Swan Lake," "The Nutcracker," "Sleeping Beauty," "Don Quixote" and "Romeo and Juliet" to Chinese fans from February 10 to 14.

The Russian Symphony Orchestra will perform the live accompaniment.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 14

Place: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 6506-5345

Urban struggle on stage: A comedy drama entitled "A Bit Light-tasting? Add Some Chives" is being staged for audiences to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The story tells of a group of migrant people of various talents who choose to live in Beijing, and their struggles in the metropolis.

Director Tian Youliang promises that after audiences watch the show, they will not only feel happy, but also gain some warmth and power after they leave the theatre.

Time: 7:30 pm, until February 19

Place: Bei Theatre, Beibingmasi Lane, Jiaodaokou Nandajie, Dongcheng District

Tel: 6404-8021, 6406-0175

Bejart Ballet: The legendary Maurice Bejart will bring his famous company Bejart Ballet Lausanne to Beijing as part of his 2005 World Tour. Audiences in Beijing might still remember the Bejart Ballet in 2001, and this time the company will present an extravagant programme with four enthralling dances from different periods of Bejart's career - "Seven Greeks Dance," "Adagietto," "Fire Bird," and "Bolero."

Maurice Bejart has enjoyed celebrity status in the dance world for half a century, creating ballets distinguished by their irresistible sensuality. Working with dance and fashion stars such as Sylvie Guillem, Marie-Claude Pietragalla and Gianni Versace, he has brought the artistry and glamour of ballet to enthusiastic new audiences around the world.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 25, 26

Place: Beijing Exhibition Hall Theatre, Xizhimenwai Dajie

Tel: 6551-8181

CONCERTS
Hailing spring: The China Broadcasting Art Troupe Chorus will sing popular songs that have been widespread in China on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

Programme: "The Same Old Song," "Pearl of the East," "My Chinese Heart," "Jasmine Flower" and others.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 5

Place: China National Library Concert Hall, Zhongguancun Nandajie

Tel: 8854-5501

New spring: The Symphony Orchestra of the China National Opera and Dance Theatre will host a concert, focusing on cheerful melodies by Austrian composers.

Programme: "The Blue Danube," "Voice of Spring Waltz," along with many other waltzes and polkas.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 7

Place: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park, to the northwest of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6559-8285

Russian symphony: To celebrate Spring Festival, the Russian Symphony Orchestra will offer a concert.

Founded in 1991, the troupe has toured worldwide in Argentina, Spain, Italy, Peru, Turkey, Japan and many other countries.

Programme: "Festival Overture" by Shostakovich, "Carmen" by Bizet, "Ruslan and Ludmilla" by Glinka, works by Johann Strauss, as well as Chinese works.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 9

Place: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 6506-5345

Pop singer comes back: Sally Yeh, a Hong Kong pop singer who was popular in the 1980s, but who has remained silent off stage since her marriage years ago, jumped on stage again late in 2004.

A Warner singer who tends to sing like European and American stars, Sally has re-arranged many English songs into Cantonese and mandarin for her concert tour, as well as planning to perform lyrical Chinese songs.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 14

Place: Workers' Gymnasium

Tel: 6501-6605

Film and music: Under the baton of Fan Tao, the China Film Symphony Orchestra will feature cinematic themes. Meanwhile, excerpts from the films will be shown on the screen at the back of the stage. The films include "The Lion King," "Harry Porter," "Lotus Lantern," "Tom and Jerry" and many more.

Time: 7:30 pm, February 13

Place: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park, to the northwest of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6559-8285

EXHIBITIONS
Portugal meets China: The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Institute Camoes of Portugal collaborate to launch an exhibition entitled "Portugal Meets China" at the Millennium Art Museum. The exhibition features 38 pieces of treasures from the diplomatic history between the two countries dating back to the early 16th century. The pieces exhibited indicate the long communication in terms of culture, trade, science and politics between both government and the people of the two countries. The relics include the first maps, dictionaries and books of Portugal and Europe that Portuguese emissaries brought to China, Chinese silk and porcelain discovered in Portugal and many exchanged gifts between the emperors of the two countries.

Time: 9 am- 6:30 pm, until February 17

Place: 9, Fuxing Lu, Millennium Art Museum

Tel: 6851-3322

Renaissance & Baroque: The National Art Museum of China is holding a Renaissance and Baroque art exhibition with pieces on loan from the French national collection. The French Government bought the 111 works from private collections in 2003, with 11 million euros (US$14.3 million) of sponsorship from the retail giant Carrefour Group.

The exhibition includes works by such Renaissance masters as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raffael.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until February 20

Place: National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie

Tel: 6401-7076

China wares: An exhibition featuring fine china products from eight major manufacturing centres across the country is being held at the Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum.

More than 800 pieces of exquisite china, created by 83 craftsmen, are on display. Of the works, six daily life china utensils, which have been numbered 7501, are worth special attention. In 1975, nearly 1,000 pieces of exquisite china were selected from a special production of fine china wares and submitted to Zhongnanhai to be used by late Chairman Mao Zedong in daily life. The six items are part of the manufactured utensils, which, after the selection, were sealed and placed in storage. The exhibit marks the first-ever show of such kind of china wares.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until February 6

Place: 200 Wangfujing Dajie

Tel: 6528-8866

Festival show: A comprehensive art exhibition, which will celebrate the coming Year of the Rooster of the Chinese lunar calendar, is running at the Creation Gallery.

The exhibition features watercolours, oil paintings and prints by 11 promising and influential artists across China.

Time: 10 am-7 pm, until February 8

Place: North end of Ritan Lu

Tel: 8561-7570

Chinese paintings: Numerous works by noted Chinese painters, from both modern and contemporary times, are being displayed at the Today Art Gallery.

In addition to the works by outstanding Chinese painters - including Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong and Lu Yanshao - there are paintings by noted contemporary Chinese artists.

Focusing on the artistic value the paintings may possess, the exhibition is expected to tap into China's fast-growing art market.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until February 16

Place: 9 Wenhuiyuan Beilu

Tel: 6223-8309

Earth man stands: The Millennium Art Museum is holding an exhibition of 300 clay figurines from Huishan Town, East China's Jiangsu Province. Based on eight years of research by the Taipei-based Echo Magazine and designed by a famous US exhibition design company, the show claims to be one of the most impressive folk art exhibitions in the city.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until February 28

Place: 9 Fuxing Lu

Tel: 6851-3322 ext 6601

Modern oils: The Qin Gallery is presenting a modern oil painting exhibition to celebrate the Spring Festival.

The exhibits include the latest works by Luan Xiaojie, Pang Yongjie, Feng Feng and Li Qiang, who use their brushes to reveal their feelings about society and life.

Time: 9:30 am-7 pm, until February 28

Place: 1-1E Huaweili, north of Beijing Curio City

Tel: 8779-0461

Metaphor and mirrored image: A modern art exhibition, which is part of a bold art project introducing Chinese avant-garde art with a series of events is being held at 798 Art Zone.

More than 30 artists are participating in the exhibition. Their creations are expected to reveal the latest trends in Chinese art circles.

The creations are widely regarded as a kind of metaphor and mirrored images which the artists are using to help people observe the rapid changes in society.

An exhibition that displays digital artistic images from Singapore is also being held at 798 Art Zone.

Time: 10 am-6 pm, until February 28

Place: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu

Tel: 8456-6660

Exceed and fuse: The newly-founded Proposal Art Centre is presenting a New Year show featuring the relationship between art and industry.

In today's industrialized environment, modern painting is consistently following the changes of the times so as to keep its original vitality updated. The participating 12 artists jointly present their endeavoured art works to the public.

Time: 10 am-6 pm, until February 28

Place: 6 Beisihuan Dong Lu

Tel: 139-1116-6261

Bold creations: A four-man exhibition - featuring Chen Wenbo, Liu Wei, Yang Yong and Zhu Jia - is being staged at the Courtyard Gallery.

The exhibit displays the artists' latest bold art creations.

Time: 10 am-5 pm, until March 9

Place: 95 Donghuamen Dajie

Tel: 6526-8882

Jizhou Kiln: The story of 1,300-year-old Jizhou Kilns, from East China's Jiangxi Province, is being retold in an exhibition at the National Museum of China. More than 200 ceramics and other works included in displays are the best of their type and were produced in the kilns of the Tang (AD 618-907) and Song (AD 960-1279) dynasties.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until March 10

Place: National Museum of China, east of the Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6512-8321

Editor: Catherine