National Ballet of China will stage John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet from Wednesday to Sunday at Tianqiao Theater to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. It is the second time that NBC is performing this version of the play. NBC bought the copyright of the work from Stuttgart Ballet in 2006 and premiered it in China that year.

The work, which debuted in December 1962 by Stuttgart Ballet, is arguably the best dance treatment of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev's celebrated ballet score.

When NBC's former president Zhao Ruheng visited Stuttgart Ballet in early 2006 to discuss staging the work in Beijing, Reid Anderson, its artistic director, was hesitant. His main reason: NBC wasn't known globally at the time. Also, Anderson wasn't sure whether a Chinese company would stage it properly－no Asian companies had performed the production until then.

NBC proved its ability to Anderson and staged the show that year.

Anderson also sent Stuttgart Ballet's principal dancer Friedemann Vogel to perform as Romeo with NBC's principal ballerina Zhu Yan as Juliet for the premiere.

This time, NBC has invited Vogel again to dance with Chinese ballerina Wang Qimin.

"I had a really wonderful experience. When I first worked with the National Ballet of China, I was surprised by their standards. The dancers, the crew, all were all very good," Vogel, 34, tells China Daily on the sidelines of a recent rehearsal.

After his debut in China, Vogel has been to the country a few times. In 2007, he danced the pas de deux of Romeo and Juliet with Wang for Angela Merkel, when the German chancellor visited East China's Nanjing city. Then, he danced as Lensky for another Cranko masterpiece, Onegin, with NBC in 2009. He also performed a few gala shows in Shanghai and Beijing.

"One of the wonderful things about ballet is that we can dance everywhere in the world because we speak the same language," he says.

He also says every time he returns to China, both Shanghai and Beijing seem changed but the dancers and the company make him feel like he never left.

Chinese dancers are open and not afraid to show their emotions, he says.

"It's very important for ballet because we cannot use words. We can only express our emotions through our bodies."

In Wang's eyes, Vogel is "perfect" as Romeo－"handsome, passionate and devoted to love".

"He is a good friend and dance partner. As a guest and star dancer, he works very hard every time he is with us. Ten years ago, he was a bit shy. This time, he is more talkative."

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Vogel started to dance at the age of 4 influenced by his brother who is 12 years older and now also a professional dancer.

"I saw him dancing and found myself wanting to do it too. My parents were a little worried then because they knew how hard it was. I tried ice skating, I did not like it. I tried the piano. It was OK, but it still felt a little boring tome."

Vogel then passed an audition for the John Cranko School and later received a scholarship to study with Marika Besobrasova at the Academie de Danse Classique Princesse Grasse in Monaco.

He then won many international ballet competitions and joined Stuttgart Ballet in 1998.

"The hard part of the job is the stress of always being ready for a performance.

"I travel a lot and whenever you arrive, you have to be in best condition. It seems my life is always about packing, changing costumes and luggage," Vogel says, recounting his journey.

Immediately after the Beijing show, Vogel will fly to Moscow to dance in MacMillan's Manon.

In Stuttgart, he arrives at his rehearsal room around 10:30 am daily and leaves at 6:30 pm.

"Every day is a battle. There are always ups and downs. But thanks to the great music in the rehearsal room every morning, when you feel down, you put your back up, put your neck up to the music, then you move and you feel better," he adds.

If you go

Romeo and Juliet

7:30 pm, April 20-24, Tianqiao Theater. No 30 Beiwei Road, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-8315-6337.