Join us for an extraordinary production with five intriguing contemporary ballets by six international dance-makers.

Grappling with the role of ballet in the modern world, Holland-based American choreographer Stephen Shropshire begins a three-year artistic residency with Hong Kong Ballet with Handelwerk, an intriguing new work set to sublime music by celebrated baroque composer George Frideric Handel. HKB’s Artistic Director Septime Webre’s world premiere of Second Movement, set to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, brings together two stunning dancers in an epic duet. An excerpt from Nguyen Ngoc Anh’s Beyond the Line, a fusion of dance forms that symbolise strength and resilience to overcome personal challenges, premieres in Hong Kong.

The programme also features an award-winning piece by Hong Kong choreographic duo Justyne Li and Wong Tan-ki. Set to Philip Glass' driving score, their riveting Galatea & Pygmalion retells the classic Greek myth of the sculptor Pygmalion and his lifelike statue Galatea, exploring the relationship between a creator and their creation. Although Pygmalion eventually passed away, Galatea remained forever. Finally, the current ‘It Girl of Ballet’ Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s physically charged ballet Sombrerisimo features six blazing male leads and their incredibly malleable bowler hats in this sensual, innovative work.

This will be an unforgettable programme filled with inspiring dance that you won’t want to miss!

18.3.2021 (Thu) 10:00am - 4.4.2021 (Sun) 23:59pm
Programmes
Handelwerk (World Premiere)

Choreography and Costume Design: Stephen Shropshire^
Music: Keyboard Suite no.7 in G minor, HWV 432 by George Frideric Handel
Piano: Rachel Cheung
^Shropshire’s multi-year residency is supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL.

Choreography

Stephen Shropshire is a choreographer, curator and independent dance researcher who has created works for renowned ballet companies all over the globe.

Between 2009 to 2012, Shropshire was the artistic director of Noord Nederlandse Dans. In 2017, he was awarded a special honor prize from the Dansersfonds ’79 for the ‘consistent aesthetic harmony in his work’, and in 2018, his work We Are Nowhere Else But Here won the VSCD ‘Zwaan’ for most outstanding dance performance of 2017.

Shropshire is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City and holds an MA in Arts and Heritage from the University of Maastricht.

*Shropshire’s multi-year residency is supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL


Piano

Locally born Rachel Cheung was the first Hong Kong pianist to be a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finalist in 2017, earning both critical acclaim and the Audience Award for 'outstandingly lyrical' playing that showed 'nobility in her interpretation’. Other accolades include prizes in the 2009 Leeds, 2010 Chopin and 2012 Geneva International Piano Competitions.

Cheung frequently performs both locally and internationally. Highlights of her 2018/19 season include recitals in the US, Mexico, Italy, Poland, the UK, Germany and Japan, and creative collaborations with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and Asian Youth Orchestra, among others.

©Cheung Tai Chi


Second Movement (World Premiere)

Choreography: Septime Webre
Music: Eine kleine Nachtmusik: movement 2 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Music courtesy of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra)
Costume Design: Yoki Lai


Excerpt from Beyond The Line (Hong Kong Premiere)

Choreography: Nguyen Ngoc Anh
Music: Duong xa van dam (The Road to Infinity) by Quoc Trung

Choreography

Currently a Lecturer in Dance at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Nguyen Ngoc Anh is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. As a choreographer, Nguyen was invited to create works for Vietnamese Opera Ballet, Theatre Regensburg, Inverse Dance Company, Arabesque Dance Company, City Contemporary Dance Company and Hong Kong Ballet. He won third prize in the Vietnamese National Dance Competition, the New British Choreography Bonnie Bird Award, the Spotlight Award at the UK Critics’ Circle Dance Awards and Outstanding Choreography at Hong Kong Dance Awards. In 2019, Nguyen was appointed Artistic Director for the 21st Hong Kong Dance Awards.


Galatea & Pygmalion (HKB Premiere)

Choreography: Justyne Li, Wong Tan-ki
Music: Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra—Movement 2 by Philip Glass

Choreography

A graduate of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ School of Dance, Justyne Li is an independent dancer and choreographer. She previously danced with Hong Kong Ballet and Tanz Graz (Austria) and was a soloist with Ballett Bremerhaven (Germany) before establishing Neo Dance HK with Wong Tan Ki in 2010. Her choreographic work Division received first prize at the 7th Jerusalem International Choreography Competition, and other accolades include numerous Hong Kong Dance Awards, like Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for Galatea X and Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance for Galatea & Pygmalion.


Choreography

Wong Tan-ki is a freelance dancer, teacher, choreographer and multimedia designer. His work Division won first prize at the 7th Jerusalem International Choreography Competition, and other notable awards include Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance for Galatea & Pygmalion at the 13th Hong Kong Dance Awards and Outstanding Choreography for Galatea X at the 16th Hong Kong Dance Awards. Additionally, Wong received the Award for Young Artist at the 2015 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards and won third place for male solo at the IDO World Tap Dance World Championships 2012.


Sombrerisimo

Choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Music: Intro Espinita and Espinita by Banda Ionica, Klute by Titus Tiel Groenestege, Payo Mitcho by Titi Robin

Choreography

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has created works for over 50 companies worldwide, including New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Compania Nacional de Danza de Espana, Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Joffrey Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Scottish Ballet and The Washington Ballet. A graduate of the Royal Ballet School of Flanders, she danced for 12 years, including as a soloist at Scapino Ballet, before focusing solely on choreography. In 2010, the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote: ‘Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.’

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