CLASSIC ballet by a celebrated ballet company is always a highlight of the Shanghai International Arts Festival.This weekend local audiences will be treated to performances by 10 top ballet companies in one night.

"Top 10 Ballet Companies Gala of the World," featuring ballet companies from Europe, the United States and Asia, will perform at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center tonight and tomorrow night.

Chen Shenglai, CEO of Shanghai International Arts Festival, says they have been thinking of a big presentation for the 10th anniversary of the festival for a long time.

An invitation to a major ballet awards ceremony in Germany from Ulrich Roehm, president of German Association for Dance Pedagogues, prompted him to invite the top ballet companies to Shanghai.

With Roehm's help, the companies agreed to come.

Thirteen classic ballet pieces including "Swan Lake," "Carmen," "Don Quixote" and "Romeo and Juliet" will be staged during a two-hour performance by the Bavarian State Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Stanislavsky Ballet Moscow, Ballet De Santiago De Chile, Stuttgart Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Dutch National Ballet, New York City Ballet, Ballet de l'Opera National de Bordeaux and Shanghai Ballet.

Artistic directors of the ballet companies also participated in a forum, talking to local ballet fans yesterday.

"I believe that it will be an appealing Olympic game in ballet that you should not miss," says Chen.