In a first for ballet, Russia's legendary Mariinsky theater will project every pirouette of its classic Swan Lake in 3D to cinema audiences around the world this week, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

As the venerated troupe performs Tchaikovsky's ballet on stage in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg on Thursday, 3D cameras will capture their moves and the images will be transmitted into cinemas in 50 different countries and regions.

Among those working on hi-tech screening is a company owned by James Cameron, director of Avatar.

The performance will start Thursday at 9:30 pm (1730 GMT) in the historic theater, while a second audience will watch the 3D show on its second stage.

The performance, conducted by Mariinsky director Valery Gergiev, will in turn be beamed into 1,200 cinemas around the world.

"It's the first time in the history of ballet that it has been presented like this," theater spokeswoman Oksana Tokranova told AFP on Tuesday.
"It's a challenge because we have to transfer the magic of ballet into cinemas," one of the project's organizers, Ross MacGibbon, a former Royal Ballet dancer, told local television.

Eight 3D cameras will film the performance in a multiple-camera system that will capture closeups and shots from every angle.

The project is run by British group Glass Slipper Live Events, which worked with the late pop star Michael Jackson, as well as by US-based company, Cameron Pace, co-owned by film director Cameron.