Bountiful stage shows in Beijing

The winter wind in Beijing may be chilly these days but there's been no cooling of the city's dance scene. Performances by world renowned dance companies fill the stages of many theatres during the Beijing International Drama and Dance Festival.

The American Ballet Theater is in Beijing to present its latest shows. The troupe is a leading dance company in the world today. It brought a strong cast, with nine A-list stars and over one hundred dancers, to Beijing. They staged their latest ballet pieces One of Three and Everything Doesn't Happen at Once, both of which just debuted in October.

Germany's Meiningen Theater, with a history of nearly a hundred and eighty years, is staging Friedrich von Schiller's masterpiece Intrigue and Love, to celebrate the writer's 250th birth anniversary.

The play Message, adapted from last month's hit movie of the same name, is also on the Beijing stage. The stage version features an equally heavy dose of suspense and thrill.

The musical I ever had a dream at the People's Art Theater combines the glamour of jazz, aria, Shaoxing opera, pop songs, with its cast members performing in both Chinese and English.