Art beat in January

Expressive awakening

Ballet of the State Theatre on Gartnerplatz will give two performances of Sleeping Beauty featuring music from Tchaikovsky. Choreographed by Karl Alfred Schreiner, artistic director of the company, the ballet is about Princess Aurora, who lies asleep until a prince wakes her up with a kiss. The theater has a history that goes back to the 1830s, and the ballet looks for new forms of expression on the basis of the classical repertoire.

7:15 pm, Jan 22, 23. Shanghai Oriental Art Center-Opera Hall, 425 Dingxiang Road, Pudong New Area. 021-6854-1234.

Flamenco drama

The Ballet Teatro Espanol De Rafael Aguilar will present Carmen Flamenco. Until his death in 1995, Rafael Aguilar was regarded as one of the most important choreographers in Spain, and Carmen Flamenco was among his most famous creations. This is the piece that established Aguilar's distinctive artistic style and his own theater form. The show has toured successfully all over the world, with performances in Paris-Bercy, the Milan Scala and Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

7:15 pm, Jan 23, 24. Shanghai Grand Theatre, 300 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district. 400-1068-686.

Dream concert

A gala concert titled Chinese Dream will feature 11 leading Chinese Western opera singers at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday. All the singers are winners of national or international contests including tenor Xue Hao-yin, winner of the 2006 National Singing Contest, tenor Zhang Hai-qing, winner of 2005 National Singing Contest, tenor Shen Yang, winner of 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, and leading soprano Ke Lyuwa. They will perform popular arias from operas such as The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, as well as Chinese lyrical songs. Beijing is the first stop of the cast's national tour. They will also tour Wuhan, Chengdu, Jinan, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang and Shanghai.

7:30 pm, Saturday (Jan 24). National Center for the Performing Arts, West of Tian'anmen Square, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district.010-6655-0000.

Beauty queen's story

A Song of Everlasting Sorrow is the representative piece by Shanghai-based novelist Wang Anyi. The theater adaption premiered in 2003, and Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center will relaunch the play in celebration of its 20th anniversary. It follows the life story of Wang Qiyao, a beauty queen in Shanghai in the 1940s, reflecting the social changes of more than 60 years.

7:30 pm Tuesday-Saturday (Jan 24), 2 pm Sunday, through Jan 25. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center－Drama Theater, 1F, 288 Anfu Road, Xuhui district. 021-6473-0123.