By: Ian MacKenzie
EDINBURGH (REUTERS).- The Edinburgh International Festival EIF focuses on the Orient in 2011, as Festival Director Jonathan Mills brings a heady mix of acts to the world’s largest annual artistic extravaganza from the Far East ranging through China and Japan, Vietnam and India. The program theme for the three-week festival, running from next August 12 to September 4, is normally announced in March. But Mills took the opportunity of a visit to Beijing to release some of the details Monday, five months early. “For centuries the mysterious and alluring civilizations to the East have inspired and fascinated artists from the West,” the Festival said in a statement. “Festival 2011 juxtaposes traditional Asian art with the Orientalism it continues to inspire throughout Europe and the West, offering unique opportunities to discover more about the societies that are redefining the modern world every day.” The acts include the National Ballet of China, with the classic