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Free outdoor Asia Ethnic Cultural Performances will be staged on Saturday (November 8) at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza from 2.30pm to 5pm, showcasing Indonesian and Indian music and dance as well as Chinese ethnic dance and acrobatics.
Indonesian ethnic dances feature "Pendet Dance", a ritual dance at offering, and "Ratoh Duek Dance", a traditional dance from Aceh province performed with dancers kneeling on the floor and moving in unison. The Ratoh Duek Dance is developed from Muslim ritual movements in praying to Allah, while "Saucers Dance" depicts various stages of paddy field farming or sawah, from furrowing, planting, harvesting, taking the crop home, to pounding the rice.
Indian cultural performances include ethnic dance "Jatiswaram", displaying dynamic, geometric pure dance movements that characterise Bharatanatyam. Another dance form "Padam" tells a story with hands, facial expressions and graceful body movements. About 30 Indian children aged from 5 to 16 and living in Hong Kong, will sing songs in Hindi and Chinese including Indian patriotic songs "Vande Mataram" and "Sare Jahan se Achha".
A special costume parade will be held from 4.15pm to 4.35pm showing traditional Indonesian and Indian costumes such as the saree, the traditional wear of India; Salwar Kurta, a two-piece garment worn in North India; ethnic wear of Northeast India; Indonesian wedding dresses and traditional Batik.
There will also be Chinese ethnic dances of Miao, Tujia and Han minority groups as well as acrobatic performances to complement the show.
Asia Ethnic Cultural Performances is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Consulate General of India and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia. For enquiries, please call 2591 1340 or visit the website: www.lcsd.gov.hk/eo.
Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:41
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