Presented by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance, Hong Kong Dance Festival 2006 will take place from June 8-18. Not only will Hong Kong's flagship dance companies and dance academies take to the stage, world-class dance academies from London, New York, Beijing, Perth, Brisbane, South Africa, and Taipei will also be performing for Festival audiences. As a special event, Mr. Jia Zuoguang, a living legend in the Chinese dance world, will personally deliver a lecture while this generation's brightest Chinese Dance stars perform.
The theme of this year's Festival is 'Imagine . Capture . Project.' The Festival is presented in partnership with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. The event is presented in collaboration with The Association of Hong Kong Dance Organizations, City Contemporary Dance Company, Emergency Lab, Hong Kong Fringe Club, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, Hong Kong Ballet, Hong Kong Dance Company, Hong Kong Dance Federation, and Seoul Fringe Network (listed in alphabetical order). Tickets for the 13 programmes, totalling 38 performances and lectures, is available for sale now.
In order to promote the dance achievements of Hong Kong to the international community and to encourage exchange between local and international dance artists, the Festival will play host to a large-scale conference on Dance Education. For audiences interested in taking their Festival experience beyond the top notch dance performances, the organizer has arranged various events open to public participation, including a mass dance rally, site specific dances, and several master classes.
Hong Kong's 3 flagship dance companies will open the Festival with DANCE Trinity, which illuminates 3 stories transpiring in different time-space with 3 diverse dance forms. The 3 dances are: City Contemporary Dance Company's Rainy Days and Mondays ..., Hong Kong Ballet's Turandot (Act II & III), and Hong Kong Dance Company's Red Poppies (excerpts).
Another key part of the Festival is the International Festival of Dance Academies (IFDA), celebrating its 20th anniversary. Works by some of the best-known and most significant international choreographers will be performed by outstanding young dance artists from the world's most respected dance institutes and academies, including Queensland University of Technology, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Beijing Dance Academy, Transitions Dance Company/Laban (UK), Taipei National University of the Arts, Purchase Conservatory of SUNY (USA), Tshwane University of Technology, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
indepenDANCE is a series showcasing the innovative work of 15 of the worlds' best and brightest choreographers. They include: Cho Yang-sook (Korea); Jose Jay B. Cruz (Philippines); Long Yunna & Yang Mei-qi(Guangzhou); Zhao Liang & Wu Jian (Beijing); Mui Cheuk-yin, Yeung Wai-mei, Li Sze-yeung & Wong Tan-ki (Hong Kong); Jonathan Fredrickson & Rob Kitsos (USA); Youya Shinjo (Japan); Ho Hsiao-mei (Taiwan); and Evelin Moreira (Brazil).
One of the Festival's highlights is the appearance of Mr. Jia Zuoguang, an unrivalled authority on Chinese traditional dance in the modern era. He will deliver a lecture on Chinese traditional dance, with in-depth analyses of contemporary trends. The lecture will unarguably be one the most significant reflections on dance in China in recent years and will no doubt be a source of inspiration for the development of dance in Hong Kong. Mr. Jia will also be leading a group of this generation's brightest stars to provide demonstration performances. Among those coming to Hong Kong include: Liu Min, Dean of Dance Department of the PLA Academy of Art; Wang Doudou, Artistic Director of the Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe and dance soloist in the closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens; Dili Na-er, Vice-President of the Chinese Dancer's Association; Kang Shaofui, Golden Prize winner of the First Chinese Dance Lotus Awards; Aodeng Ge-ri-li, Professor of Dance School of the Chinese Central University of Nationalities; Yu Xiaoxue, Lecturer of the National Folk Dance Department at the Beijing Dance Academy; Liu Zhen & Wang Yabin, both members of the Beijing Youth Dance Troupe of the Beijing Dance Academy; and dancers from the Chinese National Folk Dance Department of the Beijing Dance Academy. This is indeed a rare opportunity for the Hong Kong public to see these national treasures display their phenomenal artistry.
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