French choreographer Bejart’s final work unveiled

Bejart, who died in November, was in final rehearsals with "Around the World in 80 minutes" when he was taken ill.

All nine performances of the production due to open in Lausanne Thursday evening are already sold out with more than 15,300 people expected.

The show takes the audience on a journey round the world in 12 stages, taking in Senegal, Greece, Austria, India and Brazil.

After Lausanne, the production moves to the Palais des Sports, Paris from February 7 to 10 and then switches to Antwerp, Belgium at the end of March.

Bejart, who was born in Marseilles, set up his own dance company in Brussels in 1960 before moving to Switzerland and starting Bejart Ballet in Lausanne in 1987 where he remained until his death. dpa