Hong Kong Ballet’s Two-year Audience Development Initiative
Ballet PLUS+ enters its second year to promote contemporary ballet for all
[Hong Kong – 19 April 2018]Following the success last year, Ballet PLUS+ enters its second year in its two-year audience development initiative to promote contemporary ballet, with mixed bill productions as the destination main stage performances.
Co-curated by Hong Kong Ballet’s Artistic Director Septime Webre and David Liu, Ballet PLUS+ aims to enhance the understanding and appreciation of the power of ballet in the contemporary world. This series of groundbreaking films, interactive workshops, lively salon talks, and an engaging symposium provides greater insights into contemporary ballet and the choreographers’ creative processes. Ballet PLUS+ culminates in a thrilling evening of premières by some of the most celebrated international choreographers of our time – Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon and Trey McIntyre. Everyone is welcome - from laypersons to dance professionals!
The following are the four major components of Ballet PLUS+. For more details, please visit http://www.hkballet.com/balletplus
1. SYMPOSIUM
Step Forward: balletTODAYsymposium
Gain an insider’s perspective on contemporary ballet and dance at balletTODAYsymposium - a one-day event at Hong Kong Cultural Centre where international presenters, dance makers, and company directors engage in no-holds-barred conversations about this ever-evolving art form. What are the current and future trends in our field? Be a part of the dialogue on what’s happening in dance in Asia and around the world.
The Symposium showcases Hong Kong Ballet’s mixed-bill performance featuring three 21st century choreographic geniuses - Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, and Trey McIntyre. Meet these choreographic masters in person along with other movers and shakers in the dance world.
Topics include:
- Presenting in a Global Village
Do we live in a borderless world? How do we connect artists with audiences both at home and halfway across the world?
- Where Are We Going?
Forging Our Identity – leaders of ballet/dance companies in the Asia Pacific region share insights on current trends and the future of dance.
- Building and Meeting Audience’s and Artist’s Needs
Room for Innovative Collaborations and Exchanges – companies and artists discuss the ins and outs of forging meaningful relationships with one another. How can we best share resources for future innovative projects, creative collaborations and co-productions?
- Process and Identity
Conversations with Dancemakers and Documentary Filmmakers about their work and how it fits into contemporary society.
Date: 1.6.2018 (Fri)
Time: 9:30am - 6:00pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Free Admission
2. FILMS
Enjoy four dance feature film screenings at UA iSQUARE. Refreshments and a brief discussion lending insights to the subject of the film will follow each showing.
UA iSQUARE House 3
4.5.2018 (Fri) | 7:10pm | West Side Story
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. A modern version of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
6.5.2018 (Sun) | 4:00pm | Dance Academy
A 2017 film based on an award-winning Australian Kids/TV Show, Dance Academy is about Tara Webster, a former promising teenage ballerina who suffered a devastating injury that crippled her career, while at university Tara could not let go of her dream of dancing professionally and decided to defy the odds in a near impossible comeback, leaving her life and love behind in Sydney in pursuit of her dreams to dance in New York. Tara's dreams did not turn out as she imagined and instead, she learns to find and trust her own voice before she loses everything that truly matters in the pursuit of a dream.
11.5.2018 (Fri) | 7:30pm | Rebels on Pointe
Rebels on Pointe explores gender, dreams, family, loss and love - a first-ever feature documentary celebrating the world famous Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the all-male, comic ballet company.
27.5.2018 (Sun) | 3:00pm | Dance Cuba
Dance Cuba: Dreams of Flight is an epic that sweeps across modern US-Cuban history as it intertwines riveting personal stories that are as steeped in romance, tragedy and drama as the great ballets. The documentary features Alicia Alonso, Carlos Acosta, Trey McIntryre, Septime Webre and many other ballet figures from the American and Cuban ballet scene.
Ticketing Info
Fee: $120 (includes post-talk and refreshments)
Tickets available at local UA Cinemas
Co-presented with UA CineHub
3. WORKSHOPS & TRAVELLING CORPS PERFORMANCES
Christopher Wheeldon Workshop
Christopher Wheeldon is one of the most sought-after choreographers in the world and won a Tony Award for Best Choreography for the Broadway musical An American in Paris. This workshop gives dancers a chance to engage with Wheeldon’s work taught by his repetiteur, Jason Fowler. Participants will be led through a warm-up followed by choreographic variations from Wheeldon’s prolific body of works. Each day will include intimate conversations with Jason Fowler as well as film showings of Wheeldon’s choreographic works.
Instructor: Jason Fowler
Date: 13 & 20.5.2018 (Sun)
Time: 2:00pm - 6:30pm
Venue: Studio 1, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (Conducted in English)
13.5.2018
2:00pm - 2:45pm Warm up barre
3:00pm - 5:00pm Christopher Wheeldon's choreography taught by Jason Fowler
5:00pm - 5:30pm Break with refreshments and a discussion with Jason Fowler about Christopher Wheeldon
5:30pm - 6:15pm Screening of Strictly Bolshoi- documentary film about Wheeldon’s work with Bolshoi Ballet
20.5.2018
2:00pm - 2:45pm Warm up barre
3:00pm - 5:00pm Christopher Wheeldon's choreography taught by Jason Fowler
5:00pm - 5:30pm Break with refreshments and a discussion with David Liu about contemporary ballet
5:30pm - 6:15pm Screening of Christopher Wheeldon's ballets
Fee: $200 for both Sundays
Requirement: Ages 12+, with at least 5 years of dance training
Workshops are conducted in English
Limited Quotas. First-come, first-served
Programme subject to change
Trey McIntyre Dance Workshop
In January, a round of workshops featuring the heralded American choreographer, Trey McIntyre, has been completed. His engaging work, A Day in the Life with music by The Beatles, will be performed in June 2018.
Travelling Corps
Traveling Corps Performances were presented to local secondary schools and universities in February and March. These interactive programmes were an exciting introduction to the world of contemporary dance for thousands of Hong Kong youth from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
4. SALON SERIES
Don’t miss this special series of curated conversations with some of the most celebrated dance makers of our time and members of Hong Kong’s emerging creative class.
Works-in-Process: Hong Kong Cool
Date: 24.4.2018 (Tue)
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue: GR2, 8/F, Backstage, Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and Hong Kong Ballet team up to launch a fresh and innovative project, bringing three emerging choreographers and three emerging composers together to create a series of thrilling new multimedia works. Join them for a behind-the-scenes
glimpse of their works-in-progress, set to première in September 2018 as part of Hong Kong Cool.
Septime Webre’s World-of-Ballet
Join Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet Septime Webre as he shares insights from his international career and discusses the future of ballet in Hong Kong.
Date: 12.5.2018 (Sat)
Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Venue: 9/F Forum, eslite Causeway Bay Store
Inside International Ballet Superstar Alexei Ratmansky's Carnival of the Animals
Join us as we dive into the brilliant choreographic works of Alexei Ratmansky, as his répétiteur, Betsy Erickson, shares his process and leads a special working rehearsal of Ratmansky’s whimsical work, Carnival of the Animals.
Date: 18.5.2018 (Fri)
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue: GR2, 8/F, Backstage, Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Ballet & Rock n' Roll: An Evening with Trey McIntyre
A fun-packed evening filled with fabulous music, dance and libations. Join Hong Kong Ballet’s Artistic Director Septime Webre and renowned American choreographer Trey McIntyre for a discussion on ballet and rock music. Hong Kong Ballet dancers will perform A Day in the Life, McIntyre’s explosive work to classic Beatles music.
Date: 25.5.2018 (Fri)
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue: Studio 1, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
A Conversation with Dance Icon Christopher Wheeldon
Meet choreographic superstar Christopher Wheeldon in person, as Hong Kong Ballet’s Artistic Director Septime Webre hosts a candid conversation with this acclaimed choreographer. Amongst his stellar ballet laurels, Wheeldon recently won a Tony Award for Best Choreography for the Broadway Musical, An American in Paris. The evening includes an excerpt of Wheeldon’s breathtaking ballet, Rush, which will premiere at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 1 June 2018.
Date: 29.5.2018 (Tue)
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue: GR2, 8/F, Backstage, Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Free Admission
Conducted mainly in English
DOWNLOAD PRESS PHOTOS
[Click on the photo to download full image]
Photo 1: Ballet PLUS+ promotional image | Dancers (from left): Li Jiabo, Forrest Rain Oliveros, Li Lin, Lucas Jerkander | Photographer: Ricky Lo
Photo 2: Trey McIntyre Dance Workshop in January this year
Photo 3: Trey McIntyre Dance Workshop in January this year
Photo 4: Traveling Corps Performance were presented to local secondary schools and universities in February and March this year
Photo 5: Traveling Corps Performance were presented to local secondary schools and universities in February and March this year
Photo 6: Septime Webre, Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet and Co-curator of Ballet PLUS+
Photo 7: David Liu, Co-curator of Ballet PLUS+
Photo 8: Christopher Wheeldon, Choreographer of Rush
Photo 9: Jason Fowler
Photo 10: Trey McIntyre, Choreographer of A Day in the Life
About Hong Kong Ballet
An eclectic mix of talent, a balance of classical and contemporary works, and a unique repertoire are the trademarks of Hong Kong Ballet, Asia’s premier ballet company. Internationally recognised and acclaimed for its creativity, talent and artistry, the Company, led by Artistic Director Septime Webre, is committed to providing captivating experiences that delight and inspire audiences from all walks of life, both at home and abroad.
For further information, please contact:
Nick Chan
Director of Marketing
T: 2105 9716
M: 9728 1777
[email protected]
