Every ballet lover knows George Balanchine, but not many are aware that the great choreographer and dancer was Georgian. Fewer still know that Georgians are the only male dancers in the world able to dance on their tiptoes while wearing supple leather ballet shoes.

All of this will become clear with the staging of the spectacular "Georgian Legend" show, which demonstrates the great influence Georgian folk dances had on Balanchine.

As the opening show of the Third Beijing International Dance Festival, "Georgian Legend" will be presented by the Georgian National Songs and Dance Ensemble "Erisioni" at the Great Hall of the People from January 10 to 12.

According to Feng Shuangbai, vice-chairman of the Chinese Dancers' Association, who has watched a DVD of the show, "Georgian Legend" is in no way inferior to "River Dance" or "Lord Of The Dance" both of which have toured Beijing in terms of scale and dramatic composition. It ranks among the most impressive choreography compositions in the world.

The show relates a story of love and hatred, of invasions, wars and victories, and also provides an insight into the pride and courage of the people of the Caucasus who, throughout the centuries, have retained their own identity.

Folk dance and music

Georgian dance reflects traditions passed down the generations and developed over the centuries, thanks to the talents of choreographers and performers.

Some dances emphasize bravery and courage; others are fluid, graceful and elegant. There are dances that pay tribute to the snow-covered summits of the Caucasus Mountains, and those that tell the story of the fall of a fortress or the training of men with sabres.

Fabulous dancers perform breathtaking jumps, sabre fights, dizzying waltzes and displaying their technical prowess. The height of their jumps, the variety, speed and synchronicity of their movements are all astonishing demonstrations of power and precision.

Audiences will hear famous polyphonic songs and melodies set to the tunes of such Georgian musical instruments as panduri, doli, salamuri, duduki, chiboni and chonguri, as well as exotic drums.

Through their polyphonic harmonies the folk singers pass on the emotions of a millennium of Georgian song. There are songs to celebrate their work, to prepare for battle, to renew their spirit and to remember their history.

In 1977, the United States space agency NASA launched a space probe called "Voyager" with exemplars of the finest artistic and musical talent as testimony of the human race's abilities. The Georgian song "Tchakrulo" translated as "Union" that opens the show was sent into outer space as mankind's ultimate vocal achievement.

Birth of legend

"Georgian Legend" can be traced back to 1999 when US producer Jim Lower and French artistic director Pascal Jourdan went to Georgia to record polyphonic folk songs.

By chance, they watched a performance in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, by the Georgian National Songs and Dance Ensemble "Erisioni." Erisioni is a Georgian word meaning dawn's first light over the Caucasus Mountains, reflecting the company's 115-year history.

Both Lower and Jourdan were impressed by the immense talent of the dancers, singers and musicians as well as the terpsichorean art, a soul and a culture enriched by centuries of history. Almost immediately, they decided to introduce this jewel to the world.

"We fell in love with their performance at first sight, so we put away the recording project and planned to make a large-scale show to acquaint the whole world with Georgia's unique and profound epics, as well as its modern culture," Jourdan told China Daily last week, when he brought dancers Nino Gularashvili and Nikoloz Lataria to Beijing to promote the show.

In 2000, Lower founded Erisioni Productions International to audition performers, rearrange dances and music featuring in the show, then called "The Legend of Tamar." Its first critically acclaimed nine-city US tour was a blockbuster success that autumn.

Over the next year, Lower and Jourdan made great improvements to the show, renaming it "Georgian Legend," and initiated their collaboration with Glem Productions, Baxter Music and Universal Music to produce European tours, a CD and a video.

The new version toured Belgium, France and Switzerland in April 2002. With an audience of 150,000 and 100,000 CDs sold in a few months, the "Georgian Legend" began to take the world by storm.

"Now we come to China," said Jourdan. "The whole company feels honoured to perform at the Great Hall of the People and to kick off the annual International Dance Festival. And more important is that China is a big door to the Asia market and we hope your people will love the show."

(China Daily 01/04/2006 page14)