Four dancers leap through the air during the gala's grand finale, the Chinese original ballet, The Yellow River, by the National Ballet of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The classic pas de deux and group dance from the Chinese original ballet, The Yellow River, the gala's grand finale, was also performed by the National Ballet of China. Tan Xiaotang, the famous Chinese pianist, was invited to play the torrential melody for the performance. As a fusion of traditional Chinese dance and classical ballet, The Yellow River kept both the masculine strength of traditional Chinese dance and feminine beauty of ballet. The fabulous performance carried the evening to the highest point.

After Friday's performance, a celebration reception was held in the Tianqiao Theater multi-function hall. All the dancers toasted their success in the opening gala and wished the ballet season a complete success. Many top dancers from abroad expressed their happiness at performing on the Beijing stage and said they looked forward to participating in future ballet seasons.