Hong Kong Dance Company 2022/23 Dance Season Opening Anthology of Chaoxian and Korean Folk Dance: Myth of the Dancing Durumi

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:22:00 +0300
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For brief intro, please refer to page 2

Press Release

22 August 20222 [6 pages in total]

Hong Kong Dance Company 2022/23 Dance Season Opening
Anthology of Chaoxian and Korean Folk Dance: Myth of the Dancing Durumi

The Elegant Beauty of the Dancing Crane

Korean folk dances have a refined elegance that evokes images of a durumi (Korean crane) in flight. Breathing out, the dancers effortlessly glide. Breathing in, they pause with a subtle grace. Their colourful traditional Korean costumes move in harmony with the distinctive rhythms of their folk tunes. Hong Kong Dance Company is bringing works of Seoul and Yanbian artists – The Moon by Dr Han Hyo-lim and Of Sun, Rain and Our Land by Prof Jin Yinghua, from 9-11 September 2022 at Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall and 16-18 September 2022 at Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre, together in Hong Kong for the first time, dancers of Hong Kong Dance Company are going to showcase the traditional charm and contemporary elegance inherent in Chaoxian and Korean dance.

Of Sun, Rain and Our Land – 6 Traditional Chaoxian Dance Pieces by Yanbian Dance Artist

Prof Jin Yinghua, an ardent promoter and educator of the folk dance of the Chaoxian ethnic group, is the Deputy Dean of the College of Arts at Yanbian University, and Vice Chair of Yanbian Dancers Association and Jilin Province Literature and Art Critics Association. She was elected one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Jilin Province. She has selected six riveting dance pieces – Of Sun, Rain and Our Land for our audience to showcase the unique beauty of the Chaoxian ethnic group.

Second Collaboration with Korean Dance Artist – The Moon Commissioned Work’s World Premiere

Korean Choreographer Dr Han Hyo-lim once again collaborates with the Hong Kong Dance Company. Back in 2018, Dr Han presented Furious Sea – Memory on Ube in Tale of Three Cities, a dance which commemorates the victims of the 1942 Chosei Coal Mine disaster. In the dance performance The Moon, world premiere dance piece commissioned by HKDC, Dr Han looks into Korean Shamanism and folklore to recreate the mysterious shamanistic rituals in dance.

An Exciting Variety of Programme Plus Events to Introduce Chaoxian Folk Dance

Hong Kong Dance Company is organising a series of Programme Plus Events to facilitate a better understanding of Chaoxian folk dance among folk dance lovers and the public. Last month, HKDC called for entries for the Myth of the Dancing Durumi Online Open Korean Folk Dance Contest for three groups of participants: Toddler Division, Student Division and Open Division. 19 participating teams have since registered. Announcement of the winning teams will be made by end of August. The winning teams would have the chance to showcase their works in another fringe activity The Harvest Moon - Journey into Traditional Chaoxian Culture which will be held in late September. HKDC was invited by eslite Hong Kong to perform Myth of the Dancing Durumi - The Elegant Beauty of the Dancing Crane at its 10th anniversary celebration at eslite Forum in Hysan Place on 13 August. The performance was led by Ms Lou Wen, Dance Tutor and Researcher from Yanbian University, who was specially invited by HKDC to lead a group of dancers for demonstrating Chaoxian folk dance. The interaction with the audience was one of the highlights of the event.

For online activities, Ms Lou Wen is featured in a series of ten episodes in the Cultural Exchange Artist's Vlog of Myth of the Dancing Durumi where she shared with us her stay in Hong Kong as an exchange artist.

An exhibition on Chaoxian culture and folk dance for Myth of the Dancing Durumi will be held from 3 to 18 September at the Exhibition Corner of Yuen Long Theatre. The exhibition is free-of-charge. In addition, The Harvest Moon - Journey into Traditional Korean Culture will be held on 25 September at the Exhibition Gallery of Sha Tin Town Hall. The event promotes and cultivates further understanding of the techniques of Chaoxian folk dance through a Master Class and a demo dance performance.

Brief introduction (around 80 words)

Korean folk dances have a refined elegance that evokes images of a durumi (Korean crane) in flight. Breathing out, the dancers effortlessly glide. Breathing in, they pause with a subtle grace. Their colourful traditional Korean costumes move in harmony with the distinctive rhythms of their folk tunes. Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) is staging works of Seoul and Yanbian artists together in HKDC’s 2022/23 Dance Season Opening – Myth of the Dancing Durumi, to showcase the traditional charm and contemporary elegance inherent in Korean dance.

Anthology of Korean Folk Dance Myth of the Dancing Durumi
9 –11 September 2022 (Fri–Sun) | Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall | $380-$140
16–18 September 2022 (Fri–Sun) | Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre | $300-$80

Artistic Coordinators: Yang Yuntao, Xie Yin
Choreographers: Jin Yinghua, Han Hyo-lim
Performers: Dancers of Hong Kong Dance Company

Tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk)
Programme Enquiries: 3103 1842 / www.hkdance.com

Programme information

Date, time and
ticket prices

Auditorium,
Sha Tin Town Hall

9–10 September 2022 (Fri–Sat) 7:45pm
10–11 September 2022 (Sat–Sun) 3:00pm
$380 $280 $220 $140

Auditorium,
Yuen Long Theatre

16–17 September 2022 (Fri–Sat) 7:45pm
18 September 2022 (Sun) 3:00pm
$300 $200 $140 $80

Duration | Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes with an intermission

Remarks

Please arrive at the venue 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Latecomers will not be admitted.

Audience members who leave the venue during the performance will not be re-admitted.

Ticketing | Tickets now available at URBTIX

Discount scheme

50% off

Senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and a companion, wheelchair users and a companion, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients and full-time students.

Ticket holders must present proof of eligibility on admission. Concessions are available on a first come, first served basis.

Age Range | Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted
Programme Enquiries | 3103 1842 / www.hkdance.com
Ticketing Enquiries | 3761 6661

Yang Yuntao, Artistic Coordinator

Yang Yuntao joined the Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) in 2002 as Principal Dancer and became its Artistic Director in 2013. As a dancer, Yang was honoured with two Hong Kong Dance Awards for Outstanding Performance, and was named Best Artist (Dance) at the 2009 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. He is also an accomplished choreographer. His most notable choreography credits for the HKDC include Spring Ritual· Eulogy and The Legend of Mulan (Outstanding Productions, Hong Kong Dance Awards 2013 and 2014), as well as Storm Clouds and L’Amour Immortel, both recognised with three Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Most recent works include Convergence, Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature and Nezha: Untold Solitude.

Xie Yin, Artistic Coordinator

Xie Yin joined the Hong Kong Dance Company in 2002 as Principal Dancer and was appointed Assistant Artistic Director in 2021. She won the Hong Kong Dance Awards twice for her co-choreographic works. Her work Dawn received the Bronze Award at the Bauhinia Cup International Invitational Competition. She has been invited to choreograph for the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Ballet. She was Associate Choreographer of many HKDC’s dance dramas, as well as Artistic Coordinator of several productions for HKDC’s Children’s and Youth Troupes. Her most recent work was Four Seasons in Tale of Three Cities.

Prof Jin Yinghua, Choreographer
Piece: Of Sun, Rain and Our Land

Professor and Deputy Dean of College of Arts, Yanbian University; Program Lead of the Bachelor Program of Professional Dance Performance; Vice Chair of Yanbian Dance Association and Jilin Province Literature and Art Critics Association; Overseas Director of Korean Dance Historical Records Association; and Distinguished Expert of Research Base for Folk Dance and Culture at Beijing Dance Academy.

Awarded National Teaching Achievement Award (Grade 2), Women's Meritorious Service Pacesetter, Jilin Ten Outstanding Youth Award, Jilin Three Aspects of Education Advanced Individual, and Yanbian Deyishuangxing Outstanding Cultural Worker.

Professor Jin is well known for her Chaoxian Dance Master Class which was awarded National Traditional Art Academy Dance Culture Preservation Award. Her Chaoxian Folk Dance Program was also awarded National Tertiary Institution Dance Master Class Gold Award and Quality Award. She has also completed social research studies on Hundred Years of Chaoxian Dance Culture Heritage & Development and 21st Century Chaoxian Dance Training System. Her thesis and publications are published in well-established journals in China and in overseas.

Professor Jin's works include Miji, Mei-A-Li, Changgo Dance, Within the Palace, Dancing Child, "Na, Changgo Whirl, and Yinji and have been showcased in China Dance Lotus Award - Folk Dance, National Dance Competition and National Taoli Cup Dance Competition.

Dr Han Hyo-lim, Choreographer
Piece: The Moon

Han Hyo-lim, choreographer from Korea, pursued her Bachelors and Masters degrees at Sungkyunkwan University, and her Doctorate degree at Yonsei University. She is the founder of Han Dance Project. She has received grand prizes in both the 31st Seoul International Dance Festival and the 14th Dance Contest of National Gugak Centre.

She first collaborated with HKDC on Furious Sea—Memory on Ube in Tale of Three Cities in 2018.