The international language of dance will help forge East/West relations this week when Birmingham Royal Ballet embarks on its first-ever tour to China.
The tour is covering three major cities – Guangzhou (Birmingham’s sister city), Beijing and Shanghai – and is being supported by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of Britain’s most respected professional dance institutions and the international tour sponsorship from Advantage West Midlands will help promote the rich cultural and tourism offer in the West Midlands region.
An estimated 25,000 Chinese ballet lovers will enjoy touring productions of Beauty and the Beast and Romeo and Juliet. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, will also perform concerts in Beijing and Shanghai.
The tour opens with a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Baiyun International Convention Centre, in Guangzhou, on Friday January 9th.
Roger Allonby, Head of Tourism and Culture at Advantage West Midlands, said: “The Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the jewels in the West Midlands cultural crown and this is a fantastic opportunity to promote the region as a world class destination.
“Another one of our key roles at AWM is to attract inward investment from overseas and we will be using this opportunity to network with key partners from Chinese business and higher education.”
Advantage West Midlands played an influential role in two major inward investments made by Chinese companies in the UK in recent years:
• the NAC (Nanjing Automobile Corporation) acquisition of the assets of the former MG Rover Group in 2006/07, which created around 200 jobs at Longbridge producing MG TF sports cars
• the creation of the SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) Motor UK Technical Centre in Leamington Spa in 2007/2008, which safeguarded around 250 jobs.
David Fisken, Market Manager (Asia Pacific) for the inward investment team at Advantage West Midlands, has travelled to China to represent the region for the first part of the tour.
Christopher Barron, chief executive of Birmingham Royal Ballet, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to profile the company at an international level.
“Having toured Honk Kong and Japan with great success in the past, we now have the opportunity to enhance the international reputation of the Birmingham Royal Ballet as an ambitious and creative young company, and place Birmingham and the West Midlands on a global stage.”
The 2009 tour to China is also sponsored by Amway Artistry, Birmingham City Council, IMI, The University of Birmingham, Bournville College and the British Council.