Five ballet troupes from Russia will present the classical ballet “Swan Lake” in Shenzhen this winter.

“Swan Lake” is a ballet that was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets. The story, originally broken into two acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. The choreographer of the original production was Vaclav Reisinger (Julius Reisinger). The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet in 1895, at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky’s score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater’s chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.

Russian State Ballet

Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 19-20

Tickets: 80-680 yuan

Venue: Huaxia Art Center, 1 Guangqiao Street, Overseas Chinese Town, Nanshan District (南山区华侨城光侨街1号华夏艺术中心)

Metro: Line 1, OCT Station (华侨城站), Exit B

Russian Tchaikovsky Ballet Troupe

Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 25

Tickets: 180-880 yuan

Venue: Shenzhen Poly Theater, intersection of Wenxin Road 5 and Houhaibin Road, Nanshan District (南山区后海滨路与文心五路交界处深圳保利剧院)

Metro: Line 2, Houhai Station (后海站), Exit E

Russian Theater Ballet Troupe

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 3-4

Tickets: 100-580 yuan

Venue: Shenzhen Poly Theater, intersection of Wenxin Road 5 and Houhaibin Road, Nanshan District (南山区后海滨路与文心五路交界处深圳保利剧院)

Metro: Line 2, Houhai Station (后海站), Exit E

Royal Russian Ballet

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 2

Tickets: 180-680 yuan

Venue: Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center, No. 2106, Nanshan Boulevard, Nanshan District (南山区南山大道2106号南山文体中心)

Metro: Line 1, Taoyuan Station (桃园站), Exit B

Russian St. Petersburg Ballet Troupe

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 2-3

Venue: Shenzhen Grand Theater, No. 5018, Shennan Road East, Luohu District (罗湖区深南东路5018号深圳大剧院)

Metro: Line 1 or 2, Grand Theater Station (大剧院站), Exit B