[04 Sept 2023 - Hong Kong] Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) is kicking off its new Dance Season with Grand Dance Poem, A Dance of Celestial Rhythms, in September 2023. Choreographed by Artistic Director Yang Yuntao, this splendid opening performance is about to captivate the audience with stunning visuals, inspiring music, state-of-the-art lighting effects and an atmospheric olfactory experience; moving through the natural cycles of time and life, and ultimately gaining a vivid understanding of the nature.
Multisensory experience
The “Twenty-Four Solar Terms”, inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is not only an important aspect of traditional Chinese culture and wisdom, but is also closely related to the necessities of life. “Our mission with this new work goes far beyond the solar terms themselves. We want to reflect on the various aspects of modern life by drawing on ancient wisdom. Metaphysically speaking, it is both a tribute to the natural world around us and a call for its protection,” Yang says.
In presenting the work, HKDC has invited various Asian designers from different disciplines to collaborate with local artists, in addition to an exceptional fragrance experience to be sponsored by Aēsop, aiming to arouse the audience’s visual, auditory and olfactory senses. Through the HKDC dancers’ virtuosity, the audience is encouraged to delight in each of the solar terms, essentially, to get back in touch with nature – with the seasonal changes that unfold around us all the time and that we have a tendency to ignore.
Collaboration between Asian designers and local artists
“I attempt to express the changing of the seasons naturalistically by using different lead instruments for each solar term, illustrating a ‘dialogue between nature and human beings’ in the call-and-response format,” Korean composer Kim Chulhwan shares. Min Chunhong, costume designer from Korea, on the other hand, has extended the idea of life cycle of a person to his costume design. Min says, “Costume in this work not only amplifies beauty in a simple way, but also extends the most primitive lines of movement and expands its scope, so it becomes an important prop in itself that makes the dancer’s subtle expression of the scene even more profound.” Meanwhile, the creative technique of generative art simulates the law of growth for all things in nature that the solar term implied. It enables the image to reveal an uncertainty and vitality closely related to nature. “For me, this will be the debut of a spectacular combination of generative art and dance,” Lin Jinyao, digital image designer from Taiwan, is excited to express. “The inspiration of the stage design came from the fluidity of air flowing, imitating the veins of a leaf and the silhouette of mountain ranges. The irregular stage set is giving audience a close-up to the refined micro landscape of the nature,” set designer from Hong Kong, LCM, explains.
Grand Dance Poem, A Dance of Celestial Rhythms, presented by Hong Kong Dance Company will be performed from 29 September to 1 October 2023 at Auditorum, Sha Tin Town Hall. Come join us on a journey of discovery and inspiration through the four seasons.
Programme Plus
Content |
A public preview of three amazing excerpts from A Dance of Celestial Rhythms: “Clear and Bright”, ”White Dew” and “Grain in Ear” & “Major Heat”, as well as the highlights from the new dance season. |
Date & Time | 9 Sept 2023 (Sat) 4:00PM |
Venue | Plaza, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Guest Host | Mr Anthony Ho |
Date | 11-24 Sept 2023 |
Venue | Foyer, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Activity 1 : Open Rehearsal | |
Date & Time | 16 Sept 2023 (Sat) 3:00PM-4:30PM |
Fee | Free to admission |
Venue | Exhibition Gallery, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Activity 2 : Tea Tasting Workshop & Dance Masterclass | |
Date & Time | 17 Sept 2023 (Sun) 2:00PM-6:00PM |
Tutors | Xie Yin (Dance Masterclass)、Cheuk Yin (Tea Tasting Workshop) |
Venue | Exhibition Gallery, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Remarks |
This is a fee-charging activity. More details to be announced on www.hkdance.com |
Performance Information
Venue | Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Session |
29-30.9.2023 (Fri - Sat) 7:45pm 30.9^*-1.10.2023 (Sat -Sun) 3:00pm |
Price |
Evenings $380, $260, $160, $100 Matinees $340, $220, $120, $80 |
Ticketing | Tickets Now available at URBTIX and Damai |
Duration | Programme duration is about 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission |
Age Limit | Suitable for aged 6 or above |
Fragrance Sponsor | Aēsop |
Accessibility Partner | Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong |
Remarks |
This programme contains scents. It is recommended to consider this factor before booking your tickets. ^ This is an Accessible Performance with Audio Description (Cantonese) Please call 2777 1771 to reserve the audio description device in advance. * With Meet-In-Artist session |
Programme Enquiries |
3103 1888 / www.hkdance.com |
Production & Artistic Team
Director and Choreographer | Yang Yuntao |
Associate Choreographer | Xie Yin |
Composer | Kim Chulhwan |
Costume Designer | Min Chunhong |
Lighting Designer | Billy Tang |
Digital Image Designer | Lin Jinyao |
Set Designer | LCM |
Sound Designer | Ha Yan-pui |
Assistant Costume Designer | Lee Junghyun |
Assistant Rehearsal | Huang Lei, Hua Chi-yu |
Guest Performers | Chen Meiyi, He Faxing (Yabin Studio) |
Performers | Dancers of Hong Kong Dance Company |
Hong Kong Dance Company
“Dancing across East and West, Moving to the Tempo of Hong Kong”
Mission Statement
We are nurtured in the cultural tradition of China, combining with the creativity of contemporary art, to impress the world with Chinese dance of Hong Kong character.
Established in 1981, Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) is committed to promoting Chinese dance with contemporary artistic visions and Hong Kong character. Since its inception, HKDC has staged over 200 productions over the decades, many of which were highly popular and critically acclaimed. Recent productions include The Legend of Mulan, Red Poppies, Spring Ritual·Eulogy, The Butterfly Lovers, Storm Clouds, L’Amour Immortel, Dream of the Past: Ancient Chinese Court Dances, Reveries of the Red Chamber, Chinese Hero: A Lone Exile, Vipassana, Lady White of West Lake, Tale of Three Cities, Waiting Heart, Liu Sanjie, Ode to the Silk Road, Dance of Strings, A Tale of the Southern Sky, Mazu the Sea Goddess, The Moon Opera, Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature, Nine Songs, Nezha: Untold Solitude, Myth of the Dancing Durumi, as well as Convergence, a culminating work created through a three-year interdisciplinary research study on Chinese dance and Chinese martial arts traditions.
As a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong, HKDC constantly brings the city’s unique artistic style to the world by touring to different cities across the globe, engaging local audiences and encouraging cultural exchange. In recent years, we have brought our award-winning productions to Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sony Centre in Toronto, Concourse Theatre in Chatswood, Sydney, Southbank Centre in London, the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre in Minsk, Arko Arts Theatre in Seoul, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre in Beijing, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai International Dance Cente, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Guangzhou Opera House, Taipei New Stage and Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, among others.
Hong Kong Dance Company was incorporated in 2001 as a charitable and non-profit-making institution, and is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as one of the major performing arts companies in Hong Kong
Media Enquiries
Ms. Jenny Lam ─ Head of Marketing and Communications Tel:(852) 3103 1830 Fax:(852) 2851 3607 Email:[email protected] Ms. Idy Yeung ─ Assistant Manager (Marketing) Tel:(852) 3103 1806 Fax:(852) 2851 3607 Email:[email protected] |
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