In China it is expected that lovers of art and literature should have read The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas the younger in high school, watched Greta Garbo's Camellias at college, before seeing Verdi's classical opera La Traviata as an adult.

Now, there is the ballet adapted from the story, The Lady of the Camellias, choreographed by dancer/choreographer John Neumeier and performed by his Hamburg Ballet.

"This is definitely one of the milestones in exceptional choreographic works from Neumeier, exemplary of his predilection for narrative full-length works and his contemporary concept of dramatic ballet," says Zhao Ruheng, the former president of National Ballet of China and now the ballet director of National Center for the Performing Arts.

Created in 1978 for the Stuttgart Ballet and then remounted for the Hamburg Ballet in 1981, the work is close to the literary source in its search for truth in the characters and their psychological dynamics. With the use of cinematic techniques and in a passionate flashback, the tragic tale of Marguerite Gautier, the lady of the camellias, is relived through Armand's memories, the young man she loved but was forced to give up.

"Neumeier constructed a complex dance drama, with an impressive set and a neo-classical vocabulary, which leads the audience to a dramatic climax by way of splendid pas de deux, big dance scenes for the group and highlights for the soloists," Zhao says.

The 68-year-old Neumeier recalls that he planned to do such a ballet in 1973, on the day he attended the funeral of John Cranko, the choreographer and artistic director of Stuttgart Ballet. He promised to help Marcia Haydee, Cranko's muse and new director of Stuttgart Ballet. She asked Neumeier to create full-evening ballets for the company.

"A few years later, during a lunch with Haydee, I came up with the idea of creating for her The Lady of the Camellias, which had been fascinating me for some years," Neumeier says.

Though the story had been chosen, he did not know which music to use. His first idea was to have Verdi's opera re-arranged, but soon abandoned it. Then the choreographer found the score for a full-evening ballet on the same theme by a French composer. Nevertheless, after carefully examining this music, it did not seem adequate.

A few days before the beginning of rehearsals, Neumeier met the conductor Gerhard Markson, by chance, and later asked him over lunch: "Which music would you choose for a ballet inspired by Dumas' Lady of the Camellias?" The conductor thought for a few minutes and answered, "Chopin or Berlioz, or both."

"The idea of Chopin filled me with enthusiasm, as I like this composer very much. But I had never choreographed his music. So I asked Markson to prepare for me a selection of pieces adapted to the ballet. And very soon the musical concept took form, as it is now," Neumeier says.

The Wisconsin-born choreographer received his first ballet training and acquired a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Theater Studies in the United States and later went to on study both in Copenhagen and at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 1963 he was "discovered" in London by Marcia Haydee, which led John Cranko to engage him at the Stuttgart Ballet, where he progressed to solo dancer and started choreography.

In 1973, he was appointed director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet and since then Neumeier has led the Hamburg Ballet to be one of the leading ballet companies on the German dance scene, eventually gaining international recognition.

As a choreographer, Neumeier has continually focused on the preservation of ballet tradition, while giving his works a modern dramatic framework. His early studies in literature and theater have greatly helped him create unique narrative forms and the dramatic full-length ballet.

It is the company's third tour to China. In 1999, it performed Neumeier's A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Beijing Beizhan Theater. At a time when most Chinese audiences favored just Russian ballet, Neumeier's Hamburg Ballet gave them a fresh interpretation of the Bard's tale, on stage. In March 2007, The Lady of the Camellias won wide acclaim at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

On its third tour, the company will give five shows at the National Center for the Performing Arts, on Feb 3-6 and 8-9, plus a workshop at No 46 Courtyard, Fangjia Hutong, co-organized by Goethe-Institute China on Saturday afternoon. Some Chinese dancers and choreographers, including Feng Ying, president of the National Ballet of China and Zhang Changcheng, director of Beijing Modern Dance, will attend the event. They will also play a documentary movie about Neumeier.

Part of the rehearsals will be open to the public and if you are interested in watching, contact Goethe-Institute China for permission.

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