To warm up for the upcoming China Arts Festival, more than 50 performances presented by foreign art groups have been staged or scheduled in cities across Shandong, said a senior official from Shandong Department of Culture.

Li Guolin, deputy chief of the department, said that these shows feature performers from countries such as Russia, Spain, France, the US, Canada and India.

To give more people the chance to enjoy these exotic performances at home, a special fund has been allocated by the provincial government as a subsidy to help people afford tickets, Li said.

The organizing committee for the 10th Arts Festival will spend 10,000 yuan to 50,000 buying some tickets to each performance. These tickets will be distributed for free to people like migrant workers and those with physical disabilities.

Among the performances is The Music of Life by a singing and dancing troupe from Brigham Young University in the US, which was staged on May 7 in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong.

Featuring scenes from life's most significant moments to the accompaniment of some classics by well-known composers like George and Ira Gershwin, the show was well received by Shandong residents.

"It's cool to see such a great musical performance at such a close distance with the foreign performers," said Zhang Qingmiao, a third-year student from the Shandong University of Arts.

Other performances to be staged include Mamma Mia, symphonies from Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the classical Spanish flamenco Carmen, Russian classical ballets, Spectrum-Yannick Rieu Jazz Quartet from Quebec, Indian dances and Yu Opera from Taiwan.

In addition to Georg Bizet's Carmen Suite, Claude Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, Maurice Ravel's Bolero and Camille Saint-Saens' piano concerto, the renowned Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire from France will also play classical Chinese music.

These performances will be staged from August to October in several cities throughout Shandong.

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