Cast Change for The Sleeping Beauty in
Hong Kong Ballet’s North America Tour 2016
[Hong Kong – 1st Mar 2016] Due to injury, Jurgita Dronina, Guest Principal of Hong Kong Ballet and Principal Dancer of the National Ballet of Canada, will withdraw from the 5th March performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada, during Hong Kong Ballet’s North America tour. She will be replaced by the Company’s Principal Dancer Yu-yao Liu in the role of Princess Aurora. Liu will be partnered by Principal Dancer Jia-bo Li, who will be dancing as Prince Désiré.
The appearance of the other guest artist, Friedemann Vogel, Principal Dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet and Guest Principal of Mikhailovsky Theatre, will remain unchanged. He will be featured in the role of Prince Désiré, partnering Liu and Principal Dancer Yao Jin as Princess Aurora, for the 3rd and 4th March performances, respectively.
Spanning between 1st and 20th March, the 44-strong troupe, led by Madeleine Onne, Hong Kong Ballet’s Artistic Director since 2009, will dance a carefully selected programme including a full-length ballet and mixed bill on the stages of Southam Hall, National Arts Centre in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa (1st & 3rd – 5th March), The Burlington Performing Arts Centre in Burlington (8th March), Flato Markham Theatre in Markham (10th March), Regina Rosen Auditorium in The Grand Theatre, Kingston (12th March) before crossing the USA borders to appear at The Joyce Theater in New York City (15th – 20th March).
The programme chosen for this tour includes the time-honored classic, The Sleeping Beauty, produced by the great ballerina, Cynthia Harvey, after Marius Petipa. Accompanied by National Arts Centre Orchestra under the baton of Judith Yan, the dancers from Hong Kong Ballet will be joined by 11 student dancers ages 15 or above, and 10 children dancers ages 6 – 10 from Ottawa, making this a true cultural exchange between two cities.
The mixed bill programme showcases four of the Company’s signature pieces, consisting of two Chinese choreographers’ works: Li Jun’s Dancing with the Wind and Fei Bo’s Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own. The other two pieces are Nacho Duato’s Castrati and Krzysztof Pastor’s In Light and Shadow, which complete the tour programme that accentuates the versatility, artistry and technical excellence of this top-notch dance institution.
Performance details
1. Ottawa, Canada
Southam Hall, National Arts Centre
Mixed Bill 1st March 2016 (Tue) 8:00pm
Dancing with the Wind
Castrati
In Light and Shadow
CAD85 CAD70 CAD53 CAD41
The Sleeping Beauty 3rd – 5th March 2016 (Thu – Sat) 8:00pm
Live Accompaniment by National Arts Centre Orchestra, conducted by Judith Yan
Guest artist: Friedemann Vogel (3rd & 4th March)
CAD109 CAD95 CAD73 CAD54
2. Burlington, Canada
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Mixed Bill 8th March 2016 (Tue) 8:00pm
Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own
Castrati
In Light and Shadow
CAD59
3. Markham, Canada
Flato Markham Theatre
Mixed Bill 10th March 2016 (Thu) 8:00pm
Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own
Castrati
In Light and Shadow
US$69 $64
4. Kingston, Canada
Regina Rosen Auditorium, The Grand Theatre
Mixed Bill 12th March 2016 (Sat) 7:30pm
Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own
Castrati
In Light and Shadow
US$49.50 $44.50 $39.50 - all plus HST and handling fee
5. New York City, USA
The Joyce Theater
Mixed Bill 1 (all except 19th March 2016 2:00pm)
Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own
Castrati
In Light and Shadow
Mixed Bill 2 (for 19th March 2016 2:00pm)
Pas de Trois from A Room of Her Own
Dancing with the Wind
In Light and Shadow
15th & 16th March 2016 (Tue & Wed) 7:30pm
17th – 19th March 2016 (Thu – Sat) 8:00pm
19th & 20th March 2016 (Sat & Sun) 2:00pm
Tickets start at $10
About The Sleeping Beauty
In a faraway kingdom long, long ago, the malevolent fairy Carabosse casts a spell on the realm’s beloved Princess Aurora, cursing her to die on her 16th birthday. The good Lilac Fairy comes to the rescue…she cannot counteract the curse but instead she modifies it, putting the Princess and the rest of the kingdom into a deep sleep. One hundred years later, Prince Désiré passes through the dark forest with his friends. The Lilac Fairy meets the Prince and together they set out to break Carabosse’s wicked spell. In time-honoured fashion, good triumphs over evil and the Prince and Princess live happily ever after.
Production: Cynthia Harvey, after Marius Petipa
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design: Mark Bailey
Lighting Design: Billy Chan
About Dancing with the Wind
Expressing its creator’s thoughts and inspiration sparked through movement, Dancing with the Wind is the third piece that Li Jun has choreographed for Hong Kong Ballet. The classical Western art form of ballet is fused with music, costumes and an aesthetic that is unmistakably Chinese. These combined influences swirl together to form a free-flowing experimental piece that includes key elements of traditional Chinese dance and tai chi. Set to a unique piece of music by composer Ah Yan, which includes Chinese string and woodwind instruments, everything from the abstract ink art set design to the traditional Chinese costumes paired with pointe shoes worn by the seven ballerinas highlight the striking complexities of the intricate balance and interrelated relationship between East and West.
Choreography: Li Jun
Music: Ah Yan
Set Design: Leocampo Yuen
Costume Design: Kun Li
Lighting Design: Kwok Fai Mak
Special Thanks: Crystal Music Ensemble and Gu Zheng Artist Yao Yao Wang
About A Room of Her Own
Frustration, self-doubt, jealousy and torment: these are just a few of the intense emotions Xi Lu, the heroine of A Room of Her Own, experiences in this dynamic piece. Lost in a maze of confused identities, she feels suffocated by her floundering relationship with her famous choreographer husband, but soon this feeling is replaced by fear and jealousy when her husband strikes up a mysterious friendship with a new colleague. Constantly caught between imagination and reality, Xi Lu is restless and lost, struggling precipitously on the verge of a complete breakdown. All she wants is to express the struggle she faces as she seeks a direction of her own making, and to experience exchange in its simplest form. This intense dramatic performance, choreographed by Fei Bo, highlights the unbridgeable gap between the genders through a profound exploration of the characters’ complex psychology.
Choreography: Fei Bo
Music: Edward Elgar’s Cello
Concerto in E minor, op 85 (Live recording by Jacqueline Du Pré and London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli)
Playwright: Wenlin Xia
Costume Design: Kun Li
Lighting Design: Boon Ann Goh
About Castrati
Nine of Hong Kong Ballet’s powerful men take over the stage in Nacho Duato’s Castrati. Set to a blend of Vivaldi’s and Karl Jenkins’ richly structured music, Duato’s work is a deeply affecting, powerful piece. The perfectly constructed ballet explores the meaning of masculinity and the significance of sacrifice in a world that demands perfection. South China Morning Post has described the piece, stating that “Duato’s choreography combines strong movement with an androgynous quality as disquieting as it is distinctive.” Castrati is hugely popular with audiences, starting quietly but building up to a punchy climax. Hong Kong Ballet was the first company in Asia to perform this eloquent piece.
Choreography: Nacho Duato
Music: Antonio Vivaldi and Karl Jenkins*
Set Design: Nacho Duato
Costume Design: Francis Montesinos
Staging: Fabrice Edelmann
Organization and Production: Carlos Iturrioz-Mediart
Producciones SL (Spain) ©NACHO DUATO, all rights reserved.
Lighting Design: Brad Fields
* With the permission of BOOSEY & HAWKES MUSIC PUBLISHER LIMITED.
About In Light and Shadow
Inspired by a range of Baroque dances and painters, including Michelangelo, Vermeer and Rembrandt, In Light and Shadow explores the interplay of light and shadow by juxtaposing contemporary lines with the lyrical music of J. S. Bach.
It begins with a delicate duet to the aria of Goldberg Variations before unveiling a rich tapestry of solos, duets and ensemble work set to the Third Orchestral Suite. Krzysztof Pastor, Artistic Director of the Polish National Ballet, was former resident choreographer of many world-class ballet companies, including Washington Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. The Journal’s Jonathan Goats said of the piece: “Playful lighting tricks and a simple but effective backdrop combine with the performance to produce a jubilant expression of human experimentation and a joyful reflection on ballet's evolving tradition and influence.”
Choreography: Krzysztof Pastor
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Aria from Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068
Set & Costume: Tatyana van Walsum
Lighting: Bert Dalhuysen
DOWNLOAD PRESS PHOTOS
[Click on the photo to download full image]
Photo 1: The Sleeping Beauty | Dancers: Yao Jin and Friedemann Vogel | Photographer: Bon
Photo 2: The Sleeping Beauty | Dancers: Yao Jin and Friedemann Vogel | Photographer: Chi Wai Cheung
Photo 3: The Sleeping Beauty | Dancers: Yu-yao Liu | Photographer: Gordon Wong
Photo 4: Dancing with the Wind | Dancer: Jin Chen (till 2014) | Photographer: Tony Luk
Photo 5: A Room of Her Own | Dancers: Miao-miao Liu, Jia-bo Li, Fei-fei Wu (till 2014) | Photographer: Conrad Dy-Liacco
Photo 6: Castrati | Dancers: Jie Shen and Hong Kong Ballet Dancers | Photographer: Hidemi SETO courtesy studio Architanz
Photo 7: Castrati | Hong Kong Ballet Dancers | Photographer: Conrad Dy-Liacco
Photo 8: In Light and Shadow | Hong Kong Ballet Dancers | Photographer: Christopher Duggan
Photo 9: In Light and Shadow | Dancers: Frank van Tongeren (till 2015) and Miao-miao Liu | Photographer: Jamie Kraus
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