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The ancient Silk Road was not only a route of trade and commerce, but also a bridge between ancient China and the West, having profound effects on the exchange of economics, politics and culture.
This autumn, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present the "Silk Road Arts Festival", taking Hong Kong audiences to revisit the mysterious Silk Road and to discover its colourful cultural diversity through wide-ranging and exhilarating programmes.
The festival will run from October 9 to November 8, showcasing the rich cultural diversity along the Silk Road, starting from Xian in China traveling across the Taklamakan Desert to Central Asia, the Middle East and on to the Italian capital of Rome.
Beginning the festival is "Splendours of the Tang Dynasty", a historical gala of songs and dance by Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theatre. Employing colourful costumes, traditional Chinese musical instruments, dances and stunts, 120 dynamic performers including many National Class One artists, use the best of modern stagecraft to revisit the magnificence of the Tang Dynasty.
A series of Silk Road encounters with renowned musicians are also lined up for the festival. They are:
- "Silk Road East & West" by Kitaro (Grammy and Golden Globe awards winner)
& Artists (Japan/USA/Hungary)
- "Buddhist Music- Treasures from the Silk Road" by Ensemble of Gansu Gannan
Labrang Monastery, Ensemble of Yunnan Xishuangbanna Main Buddhist Temple,
Buddhist Music Ensemble of Shanxi Wutai Mountain
- "Spiritual Sounds of Central Asia: Nomads, Mystics and Troubadours" by Alim Qasimov
(IMC/UNESCO Music Prize winner) & Fargana Qasimova (Azerbaijan),
Tengir-Too (Kyrgyzstan) & Bardic Divas (Kazakhstan)
- "Marco Polo's Travel to China" by En Chordais Ensemble (Greece) & Guest Artists
- "Ghazal--Persian and Indian Improvisations" by Ghazal Ensemble (Iran/India)
- "Iranian Rhythms" by Zarbang (Afghanistan/Iran)
- "New & Old Myths of Tuva" by Sainkho Namtchylak (Tuva),
Huun-Huur-Tu: Throat Singers of Tuva, Dickson Dee and Peter Scherr
- "The Silk Road Journey: A musical experience that traverses time and space"
by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Georgian National Dance Company Sukhishvili presents superbly refined folk dance with modernistic look, while Shen Wei Dance Arts (USA) zooms you back to the present with a newly created contemporary dance work "Re-(I, II, III)".
Other programmes include:
- "Heading West 2: The curious court case of Sanzang" by Theatre Fanatico
- "A Deer of Nine Colours", a shadow light dance theatre tailor-made for
family audience by Unlock Dancing Plaza and Ming Ri Institute for Arts Education
- "Bun in the Cave" by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre
Apart from performances, the festival also offers exhibitions, workshops, lecture demonstrations, meet-the-artists sessions, foyer performances and outdoor performances.
Tickets will be sold at the URBTIX from August 14. Festival leaflets are now available at URBTIX outlets. Programme enquiries can be made on 2370 1044 or at the website http://www.silkroadfestival.gov.hk.
Ends/Saturday, July 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:01
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