HKDC 40th Anniversary Season Digital Launch Video: https://fb.watch/3e8p_trJGJ/
Hi-res images: http://gofile.me/5eMFL/elcAMDR5a
Media Release
21 January 2021
In 2021, we mark 40 years of the Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC). In celebration of the joys and abundant achievements of these past four decades, we are sharing our passion for dance in 17 months of wonderful programmes and events.
Our slogan for this momentous season is “Move Within and Without”— embodied by the flowing water of traditional Chinese landscape painting in our season opening performance, Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature. Choreographed by Artistic Director Yang Yuntao, this poetic work features dancers transforming their bodies into the brush and ink and lines, intuiting the subtle relationship between the body and nature. Next up is internationally renowned choreographer Helen Lai’s magnum opus Nine Songs, inspired by Tan Dun’s music and excerpts of the great poet Qu Yuan’s 3rd century BC epic. Premiered in Hong Kong in 1991 and subsequently toured to the UK and France in 2000, Nine Songs has become a landmark in Lai’s oeuvre that remains just as compelling today as it was 30 years ago.
Waiting Heart — winner of the Hong Kong Dance Awards for Outstanding Medium Venue Production and Outstanding Lighting Design in 2019 — returns to the stage in glory this year. Merging Cantonese opera, Chinese music and dance, it ponders the question of fate and destiny. City to City: Rediscovery makes a comeback after its cancellation last year due to the pandemic. Bringing together elite choreographers and dancers from Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore, this triple bill is a dialogue in dance about the cities’ three unique cultures. As part of the conversation, HKDC will perform Jing, winner of the Hong Kong Dance Award for Outstanding Small Venue Production in 2020.
The educational dance performance All About the Three Kingdoms uses dance as a medium for storytelling, advising students the many ways of human interaction and how to fend for oneself in the face of adversity. Moving into 2022, Artistic Director Yang Yuntao revives a rebellious young god in Nezha: A Banished Prince, based on the Chinese myth The Creation of the Gods.
Professional HKDC dancers lead young members of the Children’s and Youth Troupes to bring back 2015’s warmly received Magical Adventures of Baby Polar Bear and the 12 Zodiac Animals — a heart-warming journey of love, courage, and environmental consciousness for the whole family. The Children and Youth Dance Fair 2022 curates a series of exciting and creative activities for the public, while our Outreach and Education Department, a member of the Sha Tin Town Hall Venue Partnership Scheme, is dedicated to spreading the joys of dance and celebrating our 40th anniversary through workshops, masterclasses, courses and performances.
Mr Wilson Fung, Board Chairman of HKDC, remarks, “Heralding in our 40th milestone, Hong Kong Dance Company has been toughened through fine tempering. We shall remain exuberant while continuing to withstand the test of time, sparing no effort in promoting the art of Hong Kong dance. I look forward to welcoming all of the audience members who love and support our company to tread down the path of discovery with us, for another decade and beyond.”
Mr Yang Yuntao, Artistic Director of HKDC, says, “On this artistic journey, we have been fortunate enough to carry on the work of those before us and build up the strengths of those who’ll come after. We have become the bricks and mortar used to construct this resplendent scenery.”
Grand Original Dance Poem Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature Date: 21-22.5.2021 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Children’s Dance Drama Magical Adventures of Baby Polar Bear and the 12 Zodiac Animals Date: 13-14 & 20-21.8.2021 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Dance Theatre x Minimal Canto-Opera Waiting Heart Date: 24-26.9.2021 (Fri-Sun) 7:45pm Venue: Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Contemporary Dance Theatre Classic Nine Songs Date: 26-27.11.2021 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District |
Hong Kong ∙ Taipei ∙ Singapore City to City: Rediscovery Date: 18-19.2.2022 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre |
Educational Dance Performance All About the Three Kingdoms Date: 25-26.2.2022 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Grand Original Dance Drama Nezha: A Banished Prince Date: 10-11.6.2022 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
Children and Youth Dance Fair 2022 Dancing World: Our Dream, Our Stage Date: 5-6.8.2022 (Fri-Sat) 7:45pm Venue: Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall |
Enjoy premium discounts of up to 35% off and secure the best seats by purchasing at least two standard tickets of one selected programme on or before 31 March 2021. Programme selections include: Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature, Magical Adventures of Baby Polar Bear and the 12 Zodiac Animals, Waiting Heart, Nine Songs, City to City: Rediscovery, Nezha: A Banished Prince, and Dancing World: Our Dream, Our Stage. Book your tickets on art-mate: https://www.art-mate.net/doc/58419.
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, the Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) 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 nine flagship performing arts companies in Hong Kong, our mission is to promote Chinese dance with contemporary artistic visions and Hong Kong character. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, HKDC has staged over 100 productions over the decades, many of which were highly popular with critical acclaim. 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, 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 the Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sony Centre in Toronto, the Concourse Theatre in Chatswood, Sydney, the Southbank Centre in London and The Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre in Minsk, among others.
Media Enquiries
Ms Chris Lam - Marketing and Development Manager
Tel: (852) 3103 1828 Email: [email protected]
Ms Ruby Kwan - Marketing and Programme Manager
Tel: (852) 3103 1858 Email: [email protected]
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