Hong Kong Dance Company Celebrates 40 Years

Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) celebrates 40 years this year! In celebration of the joys and abundant achievements of these past four decades, the company is sharing its passion for dance in 17 months of programmes and events.

The 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."

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.

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