At a gala reception in China on the occasion of the visit of the illegitimate president of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, guests were served Chinese cuisine and presented with a musical program in which both Russian and Chinese works were performed, including “Dance of the Little Swans.” This is evidenced by photos of the menu published by TASS propagandists.
Judging by the menu, guests were treated to Chinese cuisine with elements of haute gastronomy. Appetizers include shrimp broth, beef in bean sauce, Peking duck, Jinhua cured ham with vegetables and grouper fillet with passion fruit. Dessert included Fuzhou noodles, pumpkin puff pastry, chocolate brownie, fruit and ice cream.
The delegation was also offered Chinese wines: Greatwall red cabernet sauvignon 2009 from Hebei and Changyu white chardonnay 2016 from Beijing.
The evening's musical program combined Chinese and Russian works: “Melody of the Peking Opera”, “Polovtsian Dances”, “Dance of the Reed Flutes” from the ballet The Nutcracker, “Vocalise” and “Waltz No. 2”.
“Dance of the Little Swans” deserves special attention – one of the most recognizable numbers from the ballet “Swan Lake” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
In the USSR, this production was shown on television during periods of major political crises and changes in the country's leadership, when regular broadcasting was interrupted.
This happened, in particular, after the death of the general secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU Central Committee) – Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko. On such days, entertainment programs were considered inappropriate, and news broadcasts were often reduced to a minimum or completely restructured.
TSN reported that a separate television broadcast of the ballet was a convenient way to fill the airwaves: the recording was long, contained no words and did not require commentary.
Swan Lake's strongest association with political upheaval came later, especially during the coup in August 1991, when the ballet was again shown against the backdrop of a power crisis in the USSR.
Over time, this episode began to be perceived as a symbol of instability and turning points in Soviet and post-Soviet history.
The conductor of the evening in Beijing was Yuan Wei, and the performer was the military orchestra of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA).
