Hong Kong Dance Company and Film Director Chan Kin Long Collaborate on WHERE WE LAND, WHERE WE DANCE

This is a dance venue as large as a city. Through the unique visual language of film, the creative force is expressed in the universal elements of water, fire, air, and earth. Dance is both about a discipline and an expression of souls.

Flagship Dance Company x Promising Film Director: Chan Kin Long

Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) is pleased to announce the launch of a special short film production themed WHERE WE LAND, WHERE WE DANCE by joining hands with Chan Kin Long, who won the “Best New Director” at the Hong Kong Film Awards last year for his work Hand Rolled Cigarette. This cross-disciplinary collaboration records our city in dance and reflects on the very concept of dance.

HKDC is dedicated to promoting Chinese dance with contemporary artistic visions and Hong Kong character. Since its inception, the Company has staged over 200 productions, many of which have garnered wide popularity and critical acclaim. “This delicate short film is endowed with novel perspective from the viewpoint of a film director. We influence each other to go beyond what we both are accustomed to. The narrative of this work encapsulates quintessential quality of film art, delivering a dance work that transcends its form.” Says Yang Yuntao, Hong Kong Dance Company's Artistic Director.

The four original elements of Chinese culture, Water, Fire, Air and Earth as a metaphor

This dance film uses the four original elements of Chinese culture, “water, fire, air and earth” as a metaphor for HKDC's unique artistic style and mission to create innovative Chinese dance productions with Hong Kong characteristics. These elements, expressed in dance, are fused with distinctive cultural icons of Hong Kong, such as neon signs with the character for “water” in Chinese calligraphy, Tai Hang's fire dragon dance, local street posters, building's rooftop signifying “earth” from the ancient Chinese I Ching, and so on.

The camera captures the flowing movements of the dancers that express their inner spirits; and how human bodies respond to the mother nature and the environments instinctively. Chan Kin Long explains, “When creative motives, moving images and different forms of art come together, they entice a riveting aftertaste. How intuitive expression of our souls ties to our natural surroundings sets the tone for this creative partnership. Imagining dance artists and us from film art are in our own processes of spiritual refinement. We are from different artistic camps, nevertheless we share a common language in our imagination for art.”

HKDC's new brand campaign officially launched in late May, and this new dance film embodies the Company's spirit of innovation. In addition to collaborating with film director Chan Kin Long for the first time, HKDC invited young composer Lau Hiu Kong, Lawrence, to create an electronic soundtrack reimagined with traditional Chinese instruments. In a set meticulously designed by HKDC's Artistic Director, Yang Yuntao, twenty-two young dancers roam the space, calling and responding to the city from different perspectives. Amid the flowing silhouettes of the dancers, our city is awakened. The final chapter of this short film, “earth”, is set in an iconic city's rooftop in “Hong Kong” - the land where HKDC has been dancing on for forty-two years.

In the coming dance season, the Company will continue to focus on innovation of Chinese dance, creating cross-disciplinary productions and promoting the legacy of Hong Kong. We welcome audiences to join us on our journey.

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