Ballet artists Wang Qimin and Ma Xiaodong, who played the lead roles in The Little Mermaid's performances after the premiere in 2012, will return to the stage to match steps with other dancers such as Sun Ruichen and Wang Jiyu, and the company's new principal ballerina Qiu Yunting.

Neumeier's tryst with Beijing is not new. In 1999, he toured the city with the Hamburg Ballet's choreographic take on Shakespearean comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. During the trip, he met Zhao Ruheng, the former president of the National Ballet of China, who expressed her interest to invite Neumeier to work with the company.