On March 14^th-16^th, the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo will appear to perform its masterpiece Cendrillon, a version choreographed by Choreographer-Director Jean-Christophe Maillot.The Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo was formerly known as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, which used to receive international acclaim. As a time-honoured celebrated ensemble that reshaped the global pattern of ballet, it not only gave birth to ballet elites such as Fokine, Balanchine, Pavlova and Nijinsky, but also attracted a number of top masters to partner up with: Stravinsky, Debussy and Rachmaninoff, who had composed music for it; Picasso, who designed scenery for it, and Coco Chanel, who had designed costumes for it at her own expense, making the company a legendary ballet ensemble that influenced the European ballet art history of the 20^th century.

Maillot combines the classical features ingeniously with the modern ones in avant-garde works.

However, such a “trendy” ballet company fell into a progressive decline after Diaghilev passed away. Not until 1985 was the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo reorganized by Prince of Monaco Grace Kelly’s daughter Caroline, Princess of Hanover, who wanted to achieve her mother’s wish. In 1993, choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot was appointed as the Choreographer-Director of the ballet by the Princess of Hanover.

The distinctive style turns the ballet into the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s "signature masterpiece".

Maillot combined the classical features ingeniously with the modern ones in avant-garde works, regenerating the ballet in a distinctive artistic style. The Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo today is inclined to invite preeminent contemporary choreographers to choreograph for it and hold a dance forum regularly. Also, it has trained emerging choreographers, ushering in a new era of choreography.

The Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo has made several visits to the NCPA, where it performed modern ballets, such as The Sleeping Beauty, Roméo et Juliette, Swan Lake, Faust and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presenting to Chinese audiences an unequalled visual feast, showing its eternal charm as a time-honoured celebrated ensemble.

Cendrillon is one of the four ballets works by Maillot based on traditional ballet classics. The boldly innovated choreography and fully stretchable body have not only turned the ballet into the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s “signature masterpiece”, but brought Maillot to the front in the world and had won him many grand awards. Maillot tried to redefine classics with modern ballet vocabulary and dig social meanings out of every story by applying the “post-classicism” of contemporary style to bring the classics being closer to the contemporary society and daily life.

Maillot creates a dream-like stage space with modern creation techniques.

Shining gold dust takes the place of the spirits’ magic wands, with the bared feet covered with gold dust replace the crystal shoes in the classical fairytale... Breaking away from conventions, Maillot creates a dream-like stage space with modern creation techniques, highlighting not only the fantasy colour of Cendrillon, but also the modern ballet’s distinctiveness from the classical one.

The exaggerated fancy costumes and headgear, simple but abstract stage scenery as well as the melodious music melody form a sweet fairytale atmosphere in the ballet and show the audiences the avant-garde charms of modern ballet.