Based on the novel Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Marco Polo – a choreographic epic by Luciano Cannito under the artistic direction of Eric Vu-An – is a hymn to humanism and the spirit of an encounter that puts the world within our reach. Marco Polo A fusion of classical vocabulary and dance with undertones of the Orient, this ballet propels us into a magical journey filled with exoticism, and tells the story of the clash between the emperor Kublai Khan, who wants to enslave the world in his power, and Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer who relishes discovering new people, cultures and cities. The success of this piece lays in capturing these two contrary visions through the dance and movements of each character. Whereas the emperor retains a hieratic attitude and remains deaf to reality, Marco Polo is occupied by his enthusiastic perception of life; he leaps and twirls to better celebrate the magic of the world, an ocean of possibilities that no man can ever imprison. Nice Opera Ballet Founded in 1947, Nice Opera Ballet was successively led by Lycette Darsonval, Jean-Pierre Ruffier, Tony Pardina, Martine Parmain, Jean-Michel Bouvron, Marc Ribaud and Eleonora Gori before making a new start in 2009 with the appointment of Eric Vu-An – former dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet – as artistic director of the company. Under his direction, in the last 4 years the Nice Opera Ballet has performed tributes to the Ballets Russes, Cantate 51 by Maurice Béjart, Don Quichotte, Coppelia, and the revival of Pas de Dieux by Gene Kelly (which had not been performed in France for more than 50 years), Voluntaries by Glen Tetley, La Pavane du Maure by José Limon, Raymonda by Eric Vu-An (after Petipa), the world premiere of Oceana choreographed exclusively for the troupe by Lucinda Childs, Allegro Brillante and Chaconne by Balanchine, and Three Preludes by Ben Stevenson.