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The Hong Kong Ballet's debut at the 80th anniversary of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival met with warm responses, performing to capacity crowds at its performances from July 18 to 22. Jacob's Pillow is the longest-running dance festival and a National Historic Landmark in the US, billed by the New York Times as "the dance centre of the nation" .
Speaking at a Hong Kong reception in honor of the Hong Kong Ballet at Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts, on July 20 (New York Time), Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, Miss Anita Chan, said the Hong Kong Ballet had grown to be one of the premier classical ballet companies in Asia since its founding 33 years ago.
She also told the guests that this year was the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and 15 years on, Hong Kong has been thriving under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.
Hong Kong is named the "World's Freest Economy" by the Heritage Foundation for the 18 consecutive years and the "Best Place to Do Business" by Forbes. It remains "a free and open society where human rights are respected", in the words of the US Department of State.
"Hong Kong is a city where artistic expression and creativity is celebrated and the Government is devoting increasing attention and financial resources to promoting arts and culture," said Miss Chan.
The Hong Kong Ballet is one of the nine major performing arts groups in Hong Kong that has been receiving strong financial support from the Government on an annual basis. Moreover, Hong Kong is committed to improving its cultural infrastructure, with the development of the 40-hectare West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) on a government's endowment of US$2.8 billion.
Miss Chan quoted its architect Norman Foster as saying that the integrated arts and culture project "is unparalleled" and "there is no political or cultural initiative of this scale anywhere in the world which celebrates culture." The WKCD will have a 23-hectare green park and 17 core arts and cultural venues on the Victoria Harbor waterfront.
Miss Chan also invited the performing arts lovers to the annual Hong Kong Arts Festival, which will include many dance and musical performances by some of the best artists from around the world, from February 21 to March 22, 2013.
At the performance following the reception on July 20, the Hong Kong Ballet preformed a dynamic program to a full-house audience of nearly 600 and standing ovation, displaying the company's exquisite classical technique and contemporary vision. The US premiere of Black on Black was a striking ballet by Kinsun Chan, danced to music by Henryk Górecki. The emotionally charged work Luminous depicted romance and longing, while Symphony in Three Movements embodied the power and intensity of Igor Stravinsky's acclaimed "war symphony".
More than 80 distinguished guests and dignitaries in the arts, music and literary fields attended the reception, which is also part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR. The guests included Chairwoman of the Jacob's Pillow Board, Ms Joan Hunter; Chairman of the Hong Kong Ballet, Mr John Ying; and State Representatives Mr Paul Mark and Mr Tackey Chan.
Ends/Monday, July 23, 2012
Issued at HKT 22:53
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