The Royal Opera House plays host to the Bolshoi

The company will be performing five different ballets during its run at the Royal Opera House.

Among these are Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote and Swan Lake.

Artistic director Alexei Ratmansky said audiences could expect "big and dynamic" performances in keeping with the traditions of the Bolshoi.

The Bolshoi will also give Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter its UK premiere, despite it being one of the oldest in the 225-year-old company's repertoire.

'Provocative'

Among the new performances will be a "provocative" production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Declan Donnellan.

Ratmansky admitted its Russian premiere had received a mixed response.

"Some were enthusiastic and some hated it," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "It is very provocative."

More than 220 artists have made the trip to London, along with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra.

Soloists include Anna Antonicheva, Nadezhda Gracheva and Inna Petrova.

A rendition of Spartacus will also be performed. First played in the UK in 1969, it remains one of the world's most acclaimed ballets.

"I think it's our responsibility to bring ballet to the future. The Bolshoi is one of the biggest classical theatres in the world and we have to have classics in repertoire," said Ratmansky.