"Hopefully my interpretation has evolved and matured during the past few years. I am looking forward to the communication with American dancers on and off the stage despite the language and cultural barriers," Ma says.

Feng says: "With American ballet dancers, we will offer an exciting show for the audience."

American ballerina Boylston played Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with the American Ballet Theater when she was in Beijing the previous time in 2013. It will be the first time she performs Makarova's version.

"I've worked with Makarova closely and performed her version of La Bayadere many times. Her Swan Lake is quite different from the American Ballet Theater version by artistic director Kevin Mckenzie that I'm very familiar with. So it will be an interesting challenge for me to adapt to a new partner in such a short time," she says in an e-mail interview with China Daily.

"I think there are many aspects of her choreography that express Odette's character very beautifully."

Though she has never worked with Chinese ballet dancers, Boylston, who has been using the DVD to learn the steps, says that she was blown away by "how streamlined and synchronized the corps de ballet looks".

Boylston started to learn ballet at age 3. She always knew she would dance because she loves "the freedom, creativity and musical aspect of it as well as the intense physical challenge". She first performed the role of Odette in 2011, which she describes as "a dream role for any ballerina".

"I'm hoping that the experience will be mutually inspiring for me and the Chinese dancers, and that we can all learn from each other," she says.

If you go

7:30 pm, April 23 and 24. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.