"When I performed at the NCPA back in 2018, I was a very young dancer, who joined the company in 2017.This time, I am back as the principal dancer," says ballerina Eleonora Sevenard, who got her promotion early this year. "It's very exciting to show my personal transition from a dancer to a principal dancer. I also worked with dancers of the company to learn and perform Don Quixote with more sophisticated movements. I want to fully display what I have learned and gained during the past five years."

It is also the first time that Elizaveta Kokoreva, who was promoted to the position of principal dancer at the company in April this year, performs at the national center in Beijing. "Everything is new to me, especially the grand building of the NCPA," Kokoreva says.

Vaziev notes that the connection between ballet artists from China and Russia is special. "The bond is deep," he says.

In 1959, when the National Ballet of China was established, ballet artists and experts from the former Soviet Union helped train the first group of Chinese ballet dancers.

"Now, Chinese ballet companies and ballet dancers have gained international acclaim," says Vaziev. "They've developed their own artistic styles by integrating elements of Chinese culture into ballet choreography. We hope to work with them on more new projects."