| Date |
2016/06/10-12 |
| Venue |
Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
| Ticket Price |
$1,000, $680, $480, $280, $140 |
| Synopsis |
As the curtain falls on Hong Kong Ballet’s 2015/16 season, the Company proudly presents Serenade and More, a diverse mixed bill programme featuring four ballets by a trio of choreographers – from the “father of American ballet” George Balanchine’s seminal work Serenade, to Chinese choreographer Fei Bo’s Over There and Shenren Chang (“Harmony between Gods and Men”) as well as Sacred Thread by Edwaard Liang, BalletMet’s Artistic Director. The latter two works were commissioned by Hong Kong Ballet specifically for this eclectic programme.
Set to a transcendent Tchaikovsky score, Serenade was the first ballet Balanchine choreographed in the USA, and it remains one of his most popular, widely danced works. In this hauntingly beautiful ballet, Guest Principal Dancer Tan Yuan Yuan will join forces with the ensemble. Other guest appearances include Zhan Xinlu and Wang Jiyu from The National Ballet of China, performing in Fei Bo’s Over There. The two world premieres, Shenren Chang and Sacred Thread, choreographed by Fei Bo and Edwaard Liang, respectively, will take audiences on a captivating journey of ballets inspired by Chinese elements.
Serenade
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Costume Design: Barbara Karinska
Original Lighting Design: Ronald Bates
Guest Appearance: Tan Yuan Yuan
The perfect showcase for ensemble of technically exceptional women, Serenade is a milestone in the history of dance. It is the first original ballet Balanchine created in America and is one of the signature works of New York City Ballet’s repertoire. The ballet is performed by some 20 dancers in blue costumes in front of a blue background. Originating from a lesson in stage technique, Balanchine worked unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography. When one student fell, he incorporated it. Another day, a student arrived late, and this too became part of the ballet.
Over There
“There is a ballad echoing in my ears, carrying my drifting soul away. I am looking again at this place I love deeply. I cannot return to this place, and I also cannot return to the past. This is a new beginning in my journey, and there is lots of hope. Let me bid farewell to this unforgettable place, a place I where once fell deeply in love.” Over There expresses one’s attachment to homeland and the difficulty in being separated from it through the repetitive movements and the stark contradiction between movement and stillness.
Shenren Chang (World Première)
Inspired by the ancient guqin music Shenren Chang (“Harmony between Gods and Men”), Fei Bo continues the dialogue between eastern perspectives and western ballet art. This new commission, through the dancer’s limbs, attempts to capture the rhythm of blood pumping, the movement of air from breathing, and the collision and integration of the five life elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water which signifies the world's primordial essence and fundamental nature. This piece abstractly illustrates the Chinese concepts of yin and yang, five life elements, and spiritual realm on the unity of man and universe.
Sacred Thread (World Première) |
| Cast and Production |
Artistic Director: Madeleine Onne
"Serenade"
Choreography: George Balanchine?The George Balanchine Trust
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Costume Design: Barbara Karinska
Original Lighting Design: Rona |
Reviews Record |
| Number of Performance |
4 |
| Programme Duration |
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| Number of dancers / participants |
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| Number of Audience |
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| Others |
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| Multi-Media |
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| Special Issue |
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