Of all the plans to celebrate the New Year, ballet should be near the top of the list.

Through January, the young and exciting Russian National Ballet Theater (RNBT) will be on hand to perform for Beijing's ballet lovers three of the most popular performances of all time.

A classic narration of love and betrayal, Swan Lake is considered the most brilliant work of Tchaikovsky and a great challenge for ballet dancers. Under an evil sorcerer's curse, Princess Odette spends the day as a swan and assumes her human form at night, only. The question of whether her love with Prince Seigfried is strong enough to defeat evil has attracted generations of audiences around the world for years.