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Thursday, June 06, 2019, 10:44
Swinging it at 40
By Liana Cafolla
Thursday, June 06, 2019, 10:44 By Liana Cafolla

As Hong Kong Ballet prepares to enter its 40th year, its commitment to the local community, especially people with special needs, has never been stronger. Liana Cafolla reports.

The Hong Kong Ballet team is all set to launch new works as well as fresh takes on well-known ballet classics in their upcoming 2019-20 season. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong Ballet’s (HKB)  40-year anniversary season, which kicks off in August, promises something for everyone. From classical performances to contemporary productions, street performances and newly minted choreography, the company is pulling out all the stops to attract wider and bigger audiences and demonstrate that there’s more to ballet than storied classical repertoires.

“While one single program can’t describe every aspect of who a company is, over the course of the whole season it’s important that the season as a whole tells the story of Hong Kong Ballet today,” says Septime Webre, the company’s dynamic artistic director. For Webre that means including major classical works such as Swan Lake as well as new works designed to highlight Hong Kong’s vibrancy, such as a new Hong Kong-based rendition of Romeo + Juliet. Choreographed by Webre, the piece debuts in June 2020. “I’m especially excited to be creating a new Romeo + Juliet set in Hong Kong in the 1960s — it is in some ways a valentine to my new home,” says Webre, who has lived here since taking up the role in July 2017 after many years as artistic director of the Washington Ballet. 

Audiences with special needs interact with Hong Kong Ballet dancer. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

A simultaneous sign language interpretation during a relaxed performance. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The breadth of the program reflects his determination to put on the widest possible variety of works to showcase the company’s talents and abilities. The range shows that nothing and nowhere is off limits to Webre. In a bid to draw attention to an art form that is typically performed in a formal theater setting with the action taking place at a distance from audiences, the company is taking dance out onto the streets in a series of outdoor events called Ballet in the City. “These are large-scale, free, outdoor pop-up performances, ballet happy hours, viral videos and podcasts, and other activities designed to bring Hong Kong Ballet outside the theater walls and directly into our community,” Webre explains.

The company’s anniversary will be celebrated with the International Gala of Stars 2019 show, featuring performances of contemporary works including a world premier created by Hu Song-wei, HKB’s new choreographer-in-residence. Renowned dancers such as Marcelo Gomes, former principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, and Iana Salenko from the Berlin State Ballet will perform alongside HKB’s own star dancers.

Sets and costumes by internationally reputed designers are a highlight of the season. Swan Lake will be performed in October, featuring costumes and sets by the renowned British designer Peter Farmer. 

The Asian premiere of Webre’s Peter Pan will be performed in August. A highlight of the show will be the wardrobe by Liz Vandal who designs for Cirque du Soleil, and whose costumes for HKB’s Alice (in wonderland) won the Outstanding Costume Design prize at the 21st Hong Kong Dance Awards. 

Hong Kong Ballet artistic director Septime Webre. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

scenes from upcoming productions, Romeo + Juliet, Hong Kong Cool.(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Inclusive show

This is the second year HKB is partnering with Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADAHK) for hosting relaxed performances. Ballet Classics for Children: The Sleeping Beauty will be performed in early February 2020, with two special relaxed performances aimed at audiences with autism, sensory problems or learning difficulties. For these performances, lights are lowered and sound adjusted to create a mellower ambience and a less intense sensory experience. Chill-out zones offer a place of quiet retreat to members of the audience in case they feel overwhelmed during the show. The company provides theatrical interpretation to allow people with hearing impairments to enjoy the performance. After the show audience members get to meet the dancers in person.

ADAHK promotes equal access to the arts. Last year, the special show saw more than 400 people with autism, intellectual disabilities and special needs attend the first such performance, along with carers. 

“The goal is to ensure ballet is accessible to all members of our community, regardless of who they are,” Webre says. “We can all be inspired by the uplifting experience of ballet.”

The company’s commitment to inclusiveness is also apparent in the new season’s expanded community outreach programs. Ballet fans and members of the public are invited to watch dancers rehearse as well as take part in workshops, attend meet-the-artist sessions, take master classes, tune into ballet podcasts and enter photo competitions, among other dance-oriented experiences.

Elements of the new program have been produced in a new brand video and a series of vibrant photographs that feature some of the company’s 50 dancers performing and posing in iconic Hong Kong settings, such as on the Star Ferry, next to shipping containers or even while enjoying dim sum. 

Ballet X Fashion. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Swan Lake. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

New territories

New venues and partners are also part of HKB’s expanded reach. Balanchine’s Jewels will be performed in Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ Lyric Theatre and a collaboration with West Kowloon Cultural District will see the company put on a new work at the newly opened Freespace venue. The latter is the result of choreographers working with fashion designers, paying tribute to successful past partnerships between the two disciplines, such as that between Coco Chanel and the Ballet Russes in the 1960s. The HKB show, titled Hong Kong Cool: Ballet x Fashion, will see six leading Hong Kong choreographers at various stages of their careers, each working with a different emerging local fashion designer. It was an “amazingly complex” show to put together, Webre adds.

Complexity is hardly likely to deter the company or its artistic director. Webre’s vigor and vision have helped breathe new life into the dancers and audiences, and the energy from one feeds that of the other, says executive director Paul Tam, adding that audience numbers have already grown substantially this season. Going by the innovations and artistry employed in the new program, it seems that for HKB life — or at least a reinvigorated form of it — really does begin at 40.

If you go

HK Ballet 40th Anniversary Season 2019-20

Performed by Hong Kong Ballet

Artistic director: Septime Webre

Dates: From August to mid-2020, Various venues.

www.hkballet.com




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