HK Ballet displays diversity in triple bill at Shanghai Expo (with photos/video)

HK Ballet displays diversity in triple bill at Shanghai Expo (with photos/video)
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     The Hong Kong Ballet will next month bring a triple bill, "Summer Delights", featuring three diverse dance pieces by famous choreographers to World Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Shanghai Expo).

     The trilogy, comprising "Firecracker" by Hong Kong dance master Yuri Ng, "Steptext" by the world acclaimed William Forsythe, and "In Light and Shadow" by Poland's renowned Krzysztof Pastor, will be staged at the Oriental Opera Hall of the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre on June 4 (Friday).

     Ms Madeleine Onne, the Artistic Director of The Hong Kong Ballet, said: "Traditionally, full-length ballets have storylines. Although our three pieces are of different styles, they share common features - superb choreography, great music, versatile dancers, and the absence of a storyline."

     Inspired by the traditional festive fantasy "The Nutcracker", "Firecracker" takes the audience on a stroll down Hong Kong's memory lane starting in the late 1960s, a little like watching old Cantonese film trailers.

     In "Steptext", Forsythe draws upon the heritage of Balanchine, pushing bodies to their flexible extremes while ignoring the conventional logic that governs the order and impulses of steps and the ways they are connected.

     Under the influence of a range of Baroque dances and painters including Vermeer and Rembrandt and the lyrical music of J.S. Bach, "In Light and Shadow" translates elements of light and shadow into dramatic shapes and dance rhythms.

     Ms Onne said, "I hope that the Shanghai audience will be eager to find out more about our different pieces and will enjoy at least one of them. It's like a box of chocolates, everyone will have their favourite taste."

     For full programme details and ticketing information, please visit the "event calendar" section on Hong Kong's Expo website, www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk.

"Summer Delights"
Date: June 4, 2010
Time: 7.15pm
Venue: Oriental Opera Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Centre
Length: Approx. 1 hour 45 mins
Ticket price: RMB 380, 300, 220, 150, 80
Booking hotline: (+86 21) 6854 1234
Online bookings:  www.ticket2010.com , www.shoac.com.cn
Programme enquiries
(HK): (+852) 2105 9724
(Shanghai):(+86 21) 6854 1234

Ends/Friday, May 28, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:09

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