On January 18, enthusiastic audience from all over the city flocked into the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay in Singapore, which flowing lights and color in the night, to see the unique charm of Chinese ballet. As the classic melody of Tchaikovsky’s, the Nutcracker rising at 8pm, the ballet The Nutcracker (Chinese Version), which is the 2019 national arts foundation project kicked off at the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay in Singapore.

The enthusiastic audience burst into a thunderous applause with the dancers again and again making the curtain call, the spectators on the upstairs even excitedly stood up for the artists from the National Ballet of China. Denis Shen, a Singaporean spectator, enthused "Amazing! Beautiful performance! It definitely was a world class performance. Everything was so perfect and spotless." Phillip Lim said affectionately that "This is the Chinese flavor I was looking for! As an Chinese living in Singapore for many years, we still have the custom of eating New Year’s Eve dinner and paying a New Year call. All of these have been put on the stage of the ballet The Nutcracker (Chinese Version). It not only reminded me some childhood memories, but also aroused my yearning towards my motherland at the same time.”

Text by Zhou Xunzheng

Photo by Shi Ren