Programme Cancellation

With the current surge in COVID-19 cases and tightened social distancing rules, we truly regret to inform you that turn(it)out festival, scheduled for 29 April-1 May 2022, has been cancelled.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

An explosion of ballet for the modern world

The second annual turn(it) out festival, Hong Kong Ballet’s dance extravaganza exploring classical ballet’s relationship with the modern world, features two exciting mainstage programmes and a plethora of fun and meaningful fringe activities designed to bring audiences deeper into the fascinating world of ballet. West Kowloon Cultural District will blossom into an urban dance celebration with The Rule Breakers, along with Ballet Classics for Children: Swan Lake and other inspiring experiences.

House RulesGetting to Freespace

Ballet Classics for Children: Swan Lake

A classic for the entire family

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, a princess waited for her true love to break a terrible spell. Audiences of all ages will magically step inside the immortal tale of a young woman trapped in the body of a beautiful swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart, admire the White Swan’s beauty and innocence and hold their breaths as the Prince mistakenly falls for the cunning Black Swan. This one-hour abridged version will introduce Swan Lake’s main characters and good versus evil story as well as key ballet concepts in an innovative blend of storytelling, dance and audience interaction. One of Tchaikovsky’s favourite works and the world’s most frequently performed ballet, Swan Lake’s magic, tragedy and romance is an experience to be cherished by the whole family.

Creative Team

Artistic Direction: Yuri Ng
Script Writer / Narrator : Rick Lau
Original Choreography: Marius Petipa & Lev Ivanov
Additional Choreography: John Meehan, Selina Chau
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Costume Design: Peter Farmer, Harvy Santos
Set Design: Leocampo Yuen

The Rule Breakers

Join the ballet revolution

Get ready for an electrifying evening of contemporary works celebrating some of ballet’s most influential rule breakers!

The most powerful modernist voice the ballet world has known, George Balanchine was the original rule breaker, distilling the 19th century ballet traditions down to its essentials. In his thrilling classic Rubies, dancers tear through the stage to a flirtatious score by Stravinsky.

Dance titan William Forsythe shocked the establishment by breaking ballet conventions with his extreme lines and ‘drive and attack’ style. The HKB premiere of Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated will see one of the most significant contemporary ballets in the last four decades pushing boundaries to the extreme with its virtuosic displays of extravagant athleticism.

Shining a light on the future of ballet is today’s ‘bad boy of ballet’ Andonis Foniadakis with a thrilling world premiere set to a rock-tinged score. With its swoon-worthy physicality and dramatic lighting design, Foniadakis’ signature style of perpetual movement animates the stage and culminates in a spectacular finale.

Programme
 

Rubies

 Choreography: George Balanchine

Choreography

George Balanchine is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. St Petersburg-born Balanchine had both the music and dance of Russia in his blood. Extensive musical training put him on equal grounds in communicating with great composers and enabled him to reduce orchestral scores on the piano, which is an invaluable aid in translating music into dance. Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classical, de-emphasising plot in ballets and preferring to let ‘dance be the star of the show’. In his lifetime, he created 465 works, including Jewels as one of the renowned pieces

©The George Balanchine Trust


In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated 

 Choreography: William Forsythe

Choreography

An active choreographer for over 45 years, William Forsythe is renowned for redefining ballet in the 21st century. His interest in fundamental principles of organisation led him to produce numerous projects, including installations, films and web-based knowledge creations.

Appointed Resident Choreographer in 1976 and Director of the Ballet Frankfurt during 1984 - 2004, Forsythe then founded and directed The Forsythe Company until 2015. His earlier works have been danced by every major ballet company worldwide. More recently, Forsythe created original works for the Paris Opera Ballet, English National Ballet and Boston Ballet and the internationally acclaimed A Quiet Evening of Dance by Sadler’s Wells Theatre (London).

©Stephan Floss


New Work (World Premiere)

 Choreography: Andonis Foniadakis

Choreography

Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis has danced with Bejart Ballet and Lyon Opera Ballet. He has created works for dance companies like Martha Graham Dance Company, Rambert and Geneva Ballet, choreographed for operas and films and collaborated with Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He was Greek National Opera Ballet’s Artistic Director and is currently the Artistic Director of his own dance group Apotosoma. Accolades include Best Choreography by Italian magazine Danza&Danza and Greek Critics Union.

©Peter Greig

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