Shanghai Ballet's original ballet Phantom of the Opera has just premiered. It is the sixth work created by British choreographer Deek Dean for Shangba.
"Phantom" does not have the delicacy and elegance of the traditional ballet hero, and his mask has become a symbol of ugliness and fear, he says. "The mask of the devil makes him open his teeth and dance his claws just to win back love, the half-faced black mask allows him to inhabit the darkness and stay away from the world," he adds.