The revival of acclaimed French choreographer Roland Petit's 1972 production "Pink Floyd Ballet" will premiere in China on Saturday at the Peking University Memorial Hall.

Called a "rock ballet," the work mixes traditional toed shoes with music by the British rock'n'roll band.

"It's nice to do different things," Petit said. "'Pink Floyd Ballet' is something strange. It was very modern some 30 years ago and still fashionable today."

"It was my daughter who persuaded me to do it," he told China Daily after the rehearsal early this month.

He said he hated rock music at that time and when his daughter recommended a Pink Floyd album, he didn't want to listen to it. But his daughter insisted and put it on his desk.

"I had to listen to it, but then I almost fell in love with the music immediately. It's rock music, it's more than rock music and it's great music. The very next day, I flew to London, knocked on Pink Floyd's door and asked 'would you like to do ballet with me?' We soon had dinner and settled the deal."

The China debut of "Pink Floyd Ballet" is one of the second session of the collaboration between the National Ballet of China and the legendary French ballet choreographer.

When Zhao Ruheng was appointed the president of the National Ballet of China 13 years ago, she dreamed of inviting Petit to the company and introducing his unique ballet to Chinese audiences.

The wish was not realized until 2004, the Year of China in France, when the National Ballet of China impressed France with its talented dancers.

Petit was particularly moved and accepted Zhao's invitation to come to the Chinese ballet company as a guest choreographer. The first performance under him was last November when the National Ballet of China performed three of his signature works "Carmen," "Le Jeune Homme et la Mort" and "L'Arlesienne" at the Peking University Memorial Hall.

The 82-year-old master does not feel there has been enough collaboration with the company, which is acclaimed as "one of the best companies in the world."

The world premier of "Pink Floyd Ballet" was staged in November 1972 by Ballet de Marseilles, which Petit created not long before, along with the famous band playing live the hits from their albums "The Wall" and "The Dark Side of the Moon."

The choreographer had this "rock ballet" revived for the Asami Maki Ballet Company of Tokyo in 2004. He recreated some movements for Japanese dancers.

This time Petit re-choreographed the production for Chinese dancers.

But the significance of what Petit has done for the National Ballet of China is more than bringing China his sophisticated and theatrical styled ballet and broadening the vision of both dancers and audience. His sharp eyes and unique sense for dance helped him pick out a few young dancers from the company.

In "Pink Floyd Ballet," ballet lovers will find more new faces who used to perform in the chorus and hide in the shadows of the leading dancers.

Petit introduced Zhou Zhaohui in the piece "Run Like Hell" and "One of These Days," and Wu Yan will appear in the solo variation "Run Like Hell," which is the opening piece of the ballet.

"He (Wu) is wonderful. He has very good techniques, rich face expression and theatrical sense," Petit said.

He also said that he planned to look for some break dancers from the streets to do some pieces, but the versatility of the company's young dancers convinced him to give up the idea.

"They are perfect classical school trained dancers but have imagination. They are strong not physically, but strong in sense and desire to express themselves. When you create, they like to participate," Petit said.

According to Zhao, Petit always closes the door for rehearsals. Except for dancers in that programme, he never allows other people to see his rehearsals. He does so in order to spot talents with his own eyes instead of using the company's recommendations.

"We could not say he does not listen to our recommendations and he does like some of our prime ballerinas such as Wang Qimin, whom he called "my little baby.' But he believes in his own eyes and sense. And I have to admit that he found some potential dancers who we had not noticed yet," Zhao said.

'Last Paradise'

Petit's bond with the National Ballet of China does not stop at "Pink Floyd Ballet."

Fascinated by the Chinese dancers, Chinese music and art, the choreographer also has plans for Chinese ballets. During every trip to China, he has been meeting the local artists and talking with Zhao.

The first short piece is a 16-minute pas de deux based on Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang's violin concerto "The Last Paradise" (1993). Petit picked ballerinas Zhang Jian and Zhou Zhaohui as the leads.

"The title of the music is worthy of a ballet. To me, 'the last paradise' means the last time you have sex," Petit said.

Through his choreography, Zhang and Zhou perform a dramatic piece in which a man and woman love each other, hate each other and finally kill each other.

On Tuesday afternoon, Petit was invited to give a speech at Peking University to share his love of ballet and his life with students. When he showed the video of "The Last Paradise," tears were in his eyes.

"I don't know how you feel I was deeply touched (by the) the music, the dancers and the passion in the movements," he said.

"Before I arrived in China, I thought Chinese dancers do something with certain Chinese characteristics. I was wrong. So when I watch my assistants teach them my choreography in the rehearsal room, I could not sit still and restrain my excitement. I must create something for them."

"I have much to say about this company. I say this not because I am here. I have travelled around the world to see numerous companies and dancers. You have the best dancers in the world, the really incredible dancers," he told the students. "If they travel a lot, more and more people will know them. I like to work with them and wish to create more works for them."

(China Daily June 24, 2006)