Get ready Guangzhou! The 2011 Guangzhou Arts Festival is coming up quickly, and you won't want to miss it! It will be held from September 15th to October 28th at the Guangzhou Opera House, and will host 600 artists from China and eight other countries, for a grand total of eleven spectacular performances. Below, we will give you a quick preview of some of the performances to look forward to:

1) Thousand-hands Bodhisattva
Opening the 2011 Guangzhou Arts Festival, famous Chinese choreographer Zhang Jigang, who you might remember as one of the people responsible for the ridiculously awesome closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will present his dance-drama masterpiece “Thousand-hands Bodhisattva”. Performed by the Taiyuan Dance Troupe, “Thousand-hands Bodhisattva” tells the tale of a Chinese princess who becomes a bodhisattva after sacrificing herself to save others. The show features over 200 dancers.

When: September 15-16th, 20:00
Tickets: 80, 180, 280, 480, 680,880, 1280 RMB

2) Ballet Nacional de España
Arguably the best flamenco dance company in the world, The Spanish National Ballet working with artistic director José Antonio, will be performing "The Legend" (La Leyenda), a Flamenco Dance performance, at the 2011 Guangzhou Arts Festival. "The Legend" is Antonio's tribute to a dancer named Carmen Amaya, who is basically considered one of the best Flamenco dancers of all time. With Antonio, Amaya and over 40 other dancers teaming up for this performance, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

When: September 23-24th, 20:00
Tickets: 80, 180, 280, 480, 680,880, 1280 RMB

3) Murray Perahia Piano Recital
Performing Chopin's "First Piano Concerto" to win at the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, and with more than 35 years of performing under his belt, Murray Perahia is one of the most admired contemporary pianists today. His piano recital performance at the 2011 Guangzhou Arts Festival will feature Bach's "French Suite No. 5 in G major", Beethoven's "Sonata No. 27 in E minor", Brahms's "Klavierstücke", Schumann's "Kinderszenen", and three works by Chopin, including "Prelude No. 8 in F# minor", "Mazurka No. 4 in C#" and Scherzo No. 3 in C# minor". If you are a fan of classical music, then you won't want to miss this performance.

When: October 14th, 20:00
Tickets: 80, 180, 280, 380, 480, 680 RMB

4) Mamma Mia!
Perhaps the most “buzzed about” performance of the festival is the Chinese version of the classic Broadway musical “Mamma Mia!”. The “highly original” Chinese version of the musical (marking the 14th language that it has been adapted for) has been completely translated into Chinese, while still maintaining the 22-track ABBA soundtrack and all of the original’s charm. A story of both love and laughter, “Mamma Mia!” in Chinese is sure to please audiences everywhere. The first performance of “Mamma Mia!” concludes the Guangzhou Arts Festival, but audiences can still catch other performances of it until the end of November.

When: October 28th - November 24th, 20:00
Tickets: 99, 280, 480, 680 RMB; Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights: 99, 280, 480, 680, 880 RMB 

Guangzhou Opera House Full Schedule:

Sep 15-16th
The Thousand-hand Bodhisattva by Taiyuan Dance Troupe
太原舞蹈团大型舞剧《千手观音》

Sep 23-24th
La Leyenda by Ballet Nacional de España, Director: José Najarro
西班牙国家芭蕾舞团《传奇之舞》

Sep 29th
Non-verbal performance BEAT! by Seoul Performing Arts Company
韩国幽默舞台解压剧《BEAT》

Oct 1st
Moscow CIS Youth Orchestra with Vladimir Spivakov and Ning Feng
指挥大师斯皮瓦柯夫/小提琴宁峰/CIS莫斯科青年交响乐团

Oct 12-13th
Men in Tutus by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
美国纽约托卡黛罗芭蕾舞团《颠覆经典“欢乐版”全男子古典芭蕾》

Oct 14th
Murray Perahia Piano Recital
美国钢琴巨擘穆雷˙佩莱西亚钢琴独奏音乐会

Oct 15th
Vienna Boys Choir
维也纳童声合唱团

Oct 16th
Play with Us by Korean Percussion Quartet
韩国共鸣打击乐团《与我同乐》音乐会

Oct 23rd
Piano Prodigy Niu Niu & Lucerne Festival Strings
钢琴神童牛牛与琉森节日弦乐团

Oct 28- Nov 24th
Musical MAMMA MIA! (Chinese Version) 
闭幕节目－世界经典音乐剧《妈妈咪呀!》中文版

When: Sep 15 - Oct 28, 2011
Where: Guangzhou Opera HouseView In Map
Add: 1 Zhujiang Xilu, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
地址：广州市天河区珠江新城珠江西路1号
Ticket hotline: 4008-808-922
Price: 80/180/280/380/480/680 RMB
Bus: Take subway line 3 or 5 and get off at Zhujiang New Town, Exit B1

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Keywords: 2011 Guangzhou Arts Festival Thousand Hands Bodhisattva Guangzhou Spanish National Ballet Guangzhou Murray Perahia Guangzhou Mamma Mia! Guangzhou