************************************************************
The coming New Vision Arts Festival offers something for everyone to explore new artistic frontiers - from the spellbinding concert "Hear the World ĦE Dadawa ĦE in Concert 2010 ĦE HK" by Chinese diva Zhu Zheqin, to the dance-video-music-laser performance "Mortal Engine" created by Chunky Move, to Edward Lam Dance Theatre's "Grand Expectations" which was commissioned by the festival, and the Kunqu opera "The Peony Pavilion" by kabuki master Bando Tamasaburo.
Also in the festival: Budgie (English drum), Leonard Eto (Japanese taiko), Mabi (African drum) share the stage with Japan's guitar legend Sugizo and US cellist Knox Chandler on "The Butterfly Effect"; and Mainland rock musicians Zhang Chu, Wang Yong and Wang Fan will be joined by avant-garde artists from Japan, Hong Kong and Sweden to deliver an edgy improvised soundtrack on stage for a movie by Zhu Wen.
Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the biennial New Vision Arts Festival will run from October 15 to November 21. The festival will showcase cutting-edge performances that break new ground in music, dance, theatre and multi-media crossover, and programmes featuring East-West cultural integration with a contemporary Asian focus.
A leaflet on the festival line-up is now available at the LCSD's performing arts venues.
Billed as Asia's Enya, singer Zhu Zheqin, also known as Dadawa, will open the New Vision Arts Festival this autumn with the concert "Hear the World ĦE Dadawa ĦE in Concert 2010 ĦE HK" on October 15 and 16. With her pure and natural voice, Zhu will carry audiences on a compelling journey through the diverse cultures of China.
The world-wide release of Zhu Zheqin's famous album "Sister Drum" established her as the brightest star in Chinese music. In 2009, Zhu was appointed a National Goodwill Ambassador for China by the United Nations Development Programme, embarking on a two-year project which aims to preserve ethnic minority cultures. Zhu has since covered 20,000km on her musical exploration tour, gathering songs and music from Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan and Guizhou. In the concert, Zhu weaves a tantalising tapestry from Chinese, Western and traditional instruments, in collaboration with ethnic as well as contemporary musicians.
The closing performance "The Peony Pavilion" is a meeting of two forms of intangible cultural heritageĦVChinese kunqu opera and Japanese kabuki-via the dynamic creativity of Bando Tamasaburo, one of Japan's "living national treasures". In this rare theatrical event, Bando Tamasaburo, Japan's most celebrated "onnagata" (an actor who specialises in female roles), performs with the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu Province in an epic staging of the Ming dynasty classic "The Peony Pavilion", one of the most famous examples of kunqu opera, "the mother of all Chinese operatic genres". It will be performed from November 19 to 21.
The festival will also feature:
* Xinxin Nanguan Ensemble of Taiwan & Lukas Hemleb (France) in "Feather"
* Chunky Move (Australia) in "Mortal Engine"
* Edward Lam Dance Theatre's "Grand Expectations"
* Guangdong Modern Dance Company & Hong Kong New Music Ensemble's "Mr Vampire"
* JAM&JY's "Sand ĦE Moon: Jamming Muqam"
* Budgie (UK), Leonard Eto (Japan), Mabi (South Africa), Sugizo (Japan) and Knox Chandler (USA) in "The Butterfly Effect-East-West Percussive Parade"
* Zhang Chu, Wang Yong, Wang Fan, Zhu Wen, Yoshihiro Hanno (Japan), Dickson Dee and other musicians in "Mars News Ensemble"
* GuoGuang Opera Company of Taiwan's new Peking Opera "The Golden Cangue"
* Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio and Drama Box (Singapore)in "The Next Generations"
* Ensemble Modern (Germany) in "into Pearl River Delta"
* Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's "The Mystic Realm"
* Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's "Guo Wenjing's Dizi Concerto No. 2"
* Zuni Icosahedron's "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci"
Apart from performances, the festival also offers innovative multi-media installations, workshops, lecture demonstrations, meet-the-artists sessions, foyer performances and outdoor performances.
Detailed programme brochures will be available from August 13. Counter bookings will start on the same day. For more details, please visit the website www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk .
For programme enquiries, call 2370 1044.
Ends/Friday, July 2, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:08
NNNN