Beijing

Coal and ice

It's a scan of our environment via photography. Coal + Ice, a documentary photography exhibit, will visually narrate the hidden chain of actions triggered by mankind's use of coal, featuring works from 30 photographers across the world. From deep within the coal mines to the glaciers of the Himalayas, from rivers flowing across Asia to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the photos unveil a world that combines stark black and white and the people's struggle for their living.

10 am-6 pm, until Nov 28. Three Shadows Photography Art Center, 155A Caochangdi, Chaoyang district. 010-6432-2663

Nutcracker on ice

The Saint-Petersburg State Ice Ballet, a troupe featuring all classical ballets on ice, will bring the well-known Nutcracker and Swan Lake to demonstrate ballet in another form. The performance combines the techniques of figure skating and elegant pointework of ballet. Dancers include world champions of figure skating. After their sports career, these medal winners devote their talent to ballet on ice.

7:30 pm, until Sept 29. Poly Theater, 14 Dongzhimennan Street, Dongcheng district. 010-6506-5343

Valery Gergiev concert

Popular conductor Valery Gergiev and the renowned Mariinsky Theater symphony orchestra, an ideal pairing to most music aficionados, will play Tchaikovsky's works as the prelude to Art Week at the National Center for the Performing Arts. As a musician of the highest order and czar of Russian music, Gergiev is considered as the perfect interpreter of Tchaikovsky and together with Mariinsky Orchestra, will present a feast of Russian music.

7:30 pm, Sept 30 - Oct 2. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district. 010-6655-0000

Shanghai

The Nightingale

Grammy-award winning composer and music director Yanni won over many Chinese audiences with his first concert in China in 1997. He will return for a tour here with a piece especially composed for the Chinese audience, The Nightingale. His compositions have been included in all Olympic Games television broadcasts since 1988, and his music used extensively in television and televised sporting events. His music is frequently described as "New Age" though he prefers the term "contemporary instrumental".

7:30 pm, Oct 4, Shanghai Grand Stage, 1111 Caoxi Beilu. 021-6217-3055

Digital meets tradition

Contemporary artist Yang Yongliang has created a series of digital pictures drawn from ancient Chinese culture rich with metaphorical meaning. Yang combines the poetic and traditional with contemporary items - such as skyscrapers and modern highways - to highlight unexpected conflict and contradiction. Yang's works revisit calligraphy and traditional ink painting while incorporating contemporary technology.

11 am-9 pm, until Oct 20. 18Gallery, 4F, 18 Zhongshan Dongyilu. 021-6323-8099

Hong Kong

All that jazz

The Hong Kong International Jazz Festival returns for its fourth annual edition with an eight-day roster of events, exhibitions and workshops staged at the West Kowloon Cultural District and various venues across the city. Jazz fans can experience more than 40 performance groups with 300 artists ranging from mainstream and contemporary to fringe sessions. Hong Kong's own Wilson Lam Trio headlines the opening concert on Sept 25 at the Hong Kong Cultural Center's piazza, while night owls will want to check out Canadian Irene Atman on Tue night and Bianca's Songs on Wed night. There are also children's poetry workshops, jazz appreciation workshops and wines for music lovers of all ages to immerse themselves in all that jazz.

Until Oct 2. Various Venues. www.hkijf.com or 852-2191-3297

Young and restless

As kids of all ages head back to school, Hong Kong Arts Center looks at the trials and tribulations of being young in its monthly A Lean Night - Fresh! Modern Classic Film Series. Screening Sept 25 will be Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank, starring X-Men: First Class hottie Michael Fassbender and featuring Katie Jarvis' breakout performance as Mia, a teenage Essex girl who learns about men the hard way in a searing portrayal of youth angst.

For Gus Van Sant and Hong Kong cinematographer Chris Doyle fans, Paranoid Park is about 16-year-old Alex and a deadly secret that threatens to take over his life. The film screening is followed by a discussion led by local film critic Thomas Shin.

Fish Tank: 2:30 pm, Sept 25; Paranoid Park: 5:30 pm, Sept 25. agnes b. Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Center, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai. 852-2582-0215

(China Daily 09/25/2011 page15)