Emerging Choreographers Series 2009

"Dance X Men" Photo Exhibition

2009-09-08T10:55:00.003+08:00

The Emerging Choreographer 2009 "Dance X Men" Photo Exhibition will be held at Linkbridge, Lincoln House, TaiKoo Place, Island East from 10th to 17th September 2009.

Please note that the second Photo Exhibition originally planned to be held at Citygate Outlet, from18th to 27th September 2009 will be cancelled because of technical problem. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

《暗湧》Concealed Darkness

2009-09-02T09:30:00.003+08:00

黃碧琪 X 黃宇恆（舞台視覺設計）

Rebecca Wong X Albert Wong Yue-hang (Scenography)

善於隱藏的孤寂感，為自己披上假歡樂的大衣，造就滿台的偽色彩。卻令她身、心的暗淡枯乾，如暗湧般日漸浮於表面...... 編舞以女性獨特的焦慮、冷感甚至瘋狂感官世界，與燈光裝置設計一起舞弄軀體的光、影、色、相

Good at concealing, loneliness covers itself with a coat of fake happiness and counterfeits a colorful life. But it also makes her faded and shriveled, physically and spiritually. Like an undercurrent, it is gradually reaching the surface… Together with lighting installation, the choreographer creates a dance of light, shadow, colors, and forms, with female sensitivity.

黃碧琪 Rebecca Wong

現就讀香港演藝學院學士課程，主修現代舞及編舞。熱愛舞蹈創作，在校期間曾多次發表其個人作品，並樂於與不同的媒體共同創作，其作品包括《華麗邂逅》環境演出，以及《白千層》及《圓》等多媒體創作。最近的作品有演藝學院的編舞工作坊一的《旅程》及環境舞蹈創作《暗湧》。過往亦曾與不同的藝術家合作包括︰梅卓燕(香港)、姚惠芸(紐西蘭)及尹德勳(澳洲)。於2007年及2008年前往馬來西亞及台灣，與當地舞者作舞蹈交流，擴闊其個人視野。現正尋找不同的機會，作舞蹈創作上的嘗試，希望能尋找一個屬於自己的舞蹈語言。

Rebecca Wong is currently studying at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts majoring in Contemporary Dance and Choreography. She is enthusiastic about choreography and has created numerous works during her time at the Academy. She is keen on working with different media as demonstrated in Site Specific Gorgeously Unexpected and the Multimedia Production Melaleuca Leucaendra & Cycle. Her recent works include the Academy’s Choreographic Workshop I production of Journey and Site Specific production of Invisible Waves.

She has also worked with different artists, Mui Cheuk-yin (Hong Kong), Raewyn Hill (New Zealand), and Jaime Redfern (Australia). In 2007 and 2008, she successively visited Malaysia and Taipei to participate in exchanges with local dancers and to widen her horizons in arts. She is currently looking for opportunities to explore different aspects in choreography, and find her own dance language in the process.

《藍大衣》Blue Coat

2009-08-24T09:33:00.007+08:00

賈東霖 X 葉彩鳳 X 江景先（數碼互動影像）

Jia Donglin X Koala Yip X James Kong (Digital interactive projection)

藍是光影的基調，藍大衣更是上一代舊中國的必然衣裝。來自中國的新進編舞與兩位數碼媒體藝術家合作，嘗試用男性獨舞的方式卻體現母子相遇共舞的時空，是記憶無垠的藍天空還是深沉如海的似水流年？合奏出一闕關於懷念母愛的藍調歌謠

A dance dedicated to mother and maternal love. The choreographer, together with two multi-media artists, tries to deliver a ‘pas de deux’ of mother and son in the form of a male solo. Will the blue coat, the universal costume of the previous generation of Chinese people, echo a memory endless like a cerulean sky, or a feeling deep like a dark blue sea?

賈東霖 Jia Donglin

曾為大學教師，劇團編舞。重慶市優秀青年文化人才、重慶市大學生藝術節優秀指導教師。過往創作的作品有：《我要飛》、《甘泉》、《夢》、《兩個人的世界》等，並榮獲重慶市文學藝術獎、重慶市戲劇展演優秀劇碼獎（最高獎）、全國大學生藝術展演三等獎等獎項。2008年獲得全額獎學金進入香港演藝學院攻讀舞蹈碩士，現為獨立編舞。

With experience of working in university and theatrical troupes, Jia Donglin was awarded the Chongqing outstanding young talents and the excellent instructor of Chongqing University Students Festival. His works include I want to fly, Sweet spring, Dream, Two people of the world. He won the Chongqing Arts and Literature Award, Chongqing Drama Festival Award for best drama (the highest award), National Students Art Festival for the third prize. In 2008, he won a full scholarship to enter the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to study MFA in Dance, and currently he is an independent choreographer.

葉彩鳳 Koala Yip

美國加州藝術學院舞蹈／綜合媒體碩士及香港演藝學院舞蹈學士；曾於紐約接受瑪莎·葛蘭姆現代舞學校以及百老匯中心的舞蹈訓練。回港前，她是美國加州 Trip Dance Theatre 和 Bridge Dance Company 的成員。葉氏曾獲得多項奬學金，包括：尤德爵士基金研究生獎學金、美國文化協會美國舞蹈節奬學金、美國舞蹈節錄像獎學金以及香港演藝學院校長獎。她亦曾榮獲香港紫荊杯最佳表演獎。

Koala Yip graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with an MFA in Dance / Integrated Media and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a BFA (Hons) in Dance. She also received dance training at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Broadway Dance Center in New York. Before relocating back to Hong Kong, she was a member of Trip Dance Theatre and Bridge Dance Company in California, USA. Yip was the recipient of major scholarships including Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Overseas Fellowship, American Cultural Council American Dance Festival Scholarship, American Dance Festival Video Apprenticeship, and HKAPA Director’s Prize. She also won the Best Performance Award in the Bauhinia Cup Hong Kong Dance Championship.

江景先 James Kong

畢業於香港城市大學創意媒體學院，獲頒理學學士（榮譽）學位，對應用電腦程式於舞台創作深感興趣。他在大學時開始成為舞者，曾參加多個由本地大學組織的表演，並同時參與這些演出的設計工作。他創作的互動演出《Hexic》，是結合編舞、音效和平面設計的多媒體互動舞蹈作品。作為一個初露頭角的多媒體藝術家，他曾以互動媒體設計師的身分與 Drama Box 合作創作《Drift》，並在新加坡、上海和澳門巡演。江氏近期創作包括與葉彩鳳合作為東邊舞蹈團作品《這一邊，那一邊》設計互動影像。

James Kong graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) (BScCM) from the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong Kong. He is interested in the implementation of Programming into Stage Performance. A dancer since his university days, Kong has performed in various performances organized by local universities for which he has also been involved in media design. His interactive performance Hexic is a dance piece integrating multimedia interactivity of choreography, sonic, and graphic design. As emerging multimedia artist, he collaborated, as interactive media designer, with Drama Box in the stage production Drift. The production toured Singapore, Shanghai, and Macau. His recent stage involvement includes This Side, That Side for which he designed interactive visuals in collaboration with Koala Yip.

《金星人呀，金星人》 Venusian Oh! Venusian

2009-08-20T10:44:00.007+08:00

標局（李健偉 X 陳文進 X 黄振邦）
Biuguk (Max Lee X Chris Chan X Bruce Wong)

據說火星人需要依靠金星人才能生存，金星人全身發光，有著攝人的神秘力量，令火星人天旋地轉。標局聯同七位來至不同介別的劇場工作者，以身體舞動展現男女之間的必然角力。
People say Martians rely on Venusians to survive. With a glowing body, the Venusian has an enchanting power that dazzles the Martian. Together with seven theatre artists from various fields, Biuguk uses body movements to illustrate the inevitable struggles between Men and Women.

標局
由香港演藝學院畢業生——李健偉、黃振邦及陳文進組成，成立於2007年8月8日。舞團致力於擴展舞台空間，在當代舞及音樂劇基礎上運用不同的媒體，追求創新、融合和突破，從而開拓本土舞蹈劇場的藝術和發展空間。
標局首個演出《標童》於04年首次演出、07年重演。大獲好評。2008年承東邊舞蹈團邀請，泡製了短編《Before the Last Second》。

Biuguk
Referring literally to the security guards of ancient China, Biuguk is an initiative of four Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts graduates – Chris Chan, Max Lee and Bruce Wong. It was officially established on 8 August 2007 and is committed to innovation, fusion, and break-through. While productions are based mostly on modern dance and musical theatre dance forms, the group is also devoted to incorporating different media on stage.Little Men's Blue (2004) was the first production of the predecessor of Biuguk, and was rerun in 2007 upon Biuguk's establishment. Both productions were well-received by audiences and critics.Biuguk was also invited by the E-side Dance Company to participate in a short production Before the Last Second in 2008.

《假的》 Fake

2009-08-17T09:33:00.005+08:00

羅思朗 X 羅健邦（作曲／現場演奏）

Sarah Lo Sze-long X Law Kin-pong (Sound/Live music)

作曲家、樂手、與舞者同台出演，四男女各據一方，快感的滿足，與心靈寄託的幻想和希望相碰撞，舞動和合奏於種種真實和假象的蛛絲馬跡之間……不真實的東西會好嗎？讓時間與空間說明一切。

After the pleasant moment quickly passes, will all fantasy and hope turn into illusion? Is a relationship that lacks real care and support as blank as a dotted line without any trace of live feeling? A Live Performance by composer, musicians, and four dancers together with an exploration of their relationships. When their Space starts to open and their Time will begin to tell…

羅思朗 Sarah Lo Sze Long

香港出生，2009年畢業於香港演藝學院現代舞系，並獲藝術學士（榮譽）學位。就讀期間曾獲得香港迪士尼獎學金、演藝學院友誼社獎學金、CARL WOLZ 獎學金。在2007年獲獎學金遠赴美國北卡羅來納州參加American Dance Festival, 其間更入選參與William Forsythe Project。羅氏曾與鄭宗龍、Matej Kejzar、Kristina Berger、Robert Tannion、Jaime Redfern、Raewyn Hill、John Utans、梅卓燕、吳易珊等編舞合作。2008年羅氏獲世界舞蹈聯盟獎學金代表香港到台灣國立藝術大學參加 “TAIPEiDEA”。今年2月，羅氏參加了由廣東現代舞團主辦的香港平台舞蹈交流計劃到廣州表演黃美玉編導的《不要錯過半個世界》。羅氏的個人編舞作品有：《隨著…期望》及《相輔的態度》。

Born in Hong Kong, Lo is currently a visiting student at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) degree from the Academy in 2009, majoring in contemporary dance and choreography. Lo was awarded several scholarships during her study including The Disney Scholarship, The Society of APA Scholarship, and the Carl Wolz Scholarship. She received a scholarship to participate in the American Dance Festival in 2007 and was selected to work for The William Forsythe Project. She has worked with numerous choreographers such as Jacob Cheng, Matej Kejzar, Kristina Berger, Robert Tannion, Jaime Redfern, Raewyn Hill, John Utans, Mui Cheuk Yin, and Wu Yishan. Lo was chosen by the World Dance Alliance to represent Hong Kong to join the Taipei International Dance Elite Academy TAIPEiDEA 2008. In February 2009, she was a dancer for the Hong Kong Podium Exchange Performance Series production of Hit or Miss choreographed by Rebecca Wong and presented by Guangdong Modern Dance Company. Lo’s choreographic works include Goes Along With Expectation and Complementary Attitude.

舞道X傳人 Dance X Man

2009-08-12T13:14:00.008+08:00

承接著2007-2008「編舞．新系列」的成果，香港舞蹈聯盟將在2009年推出「編舞新人王」—《舞道X傳人》，並獲得香港藝術發展局委約製作，和邀請了香港演藝學院作為合作伴。《舞道X傳人》的一個重點新概念是「合作」，透過藝術家或團體間的合力創作，達到創意相乘的效益。這個以打造本地新一代編舞家為目標的計劃，由著名編舞家楊春江擔任藝術總監，並邀得著名編舞家梅卓燕和伍宇烈作為顧問。他們在四月從公開招募所收集到的計劃書中，選出四個創作組合為九月的演出創作全新作品。四個組合已在七、八月間開始創作排練，並與藝術總監和兩位顧問討論創作中的作品，從中汲取參考意見。四個參與計劃的組合分別為：

羅思朗 X 羅健邦（作曲／現場演奏）
黃碧琪 X 黃宇恆（舞台視覺設計）
賈東霖 X 葉彩鳳 X 江景先（數碼互動影像）
標局 (李健偉X陳文進X黄振邦)

After the success of Emerging Choreographers Series in 2007-2008, the Hong Kong Dance Alliance, commissioned by Hong Kong Arts Development Council and partnered with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, presents Emerging Choreographers 2009 – Dance X Men. The project emphasizes collaboration, aiming to achieve an effect that multiplies creativity through successful choreographic collaborations. Established choreographer Daniel Yeung serves as the Artistic Director of the project. With an aim to cultivate a new generation of choreographers, Yeung, together with the project’s Mentors – established choreographers Mui Cheuk-yin and Yuri Ng – have selected 4 groups from the proposals received through an open call in this April to create new works for the performances in September. They have been choreographing and rehearsing since this July, and discussing their works-in-progress with Artistic Director and Mentors, and receiving opinions to help refine their works. The four participating groups of the project are:

Sarah Lo Sze-long X Law Kin-pong (Sound/Live music)
Rebecca Wong X Albert Wong Yue-hang (Scenography)
Jia Donglin X Koala Yip X James Kong (Digital interactive projection)
Biuguk (Max Lee X Chris Chan X Bruce Wong)

Photo Exhibition

2008-02-11T15:49:00.000+08:00

A Photo Exhibition for Emerging Choreographers Series will be held at the Ecomonist Gallery of the Hong Kong Fringe Club, from 12 to 16 February 2008. Come take a look of the movements captured by Cheung Chi Wai, Ringo Chan and Jesse Clockwork.

http://www.hkfringe.com.hk/e1.html

Fluctuation Choreographed by Wu Yi-san

2008-02-04T16:11:00.000+08:00

Wearing coats of desire, they open the door of need and begin to search… Inspired by the work of the great contemporary American psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom, The Schopenhauer Cure, the desire and existence of human beings are examined, and a touching journey of the soul is initiated.

Wu Yi-san graduated from the National Institute of the Arts in Taiwan and joined Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in 1994. She joined CCDC in 1996 and was a member of South ‘ASLI’ Dance Workshop from 1996 to 2001. She toured with CCDC and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre to American, Germany, United Kingdom, China, Singapore, France, Israel, Denmark, Australia, India. In 2000, she received a Hong Kong Dance Awards from Hong Kong Dance Alliance. In 2003 and 2006 she was listed in Hong Kong Dance Hall of Fame. In 2006 she received the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund to study at the London Contemporary Dance School in the UK. She performed in Random Dance Company and Akram Khan Dance Company and worked with Protein Dance in 2004. She choreographed and danced Formosa for Curcibe in Germany. Her choreography includes Somewhere Out There co-choreographed Victoria is not a Buoy with Yuri Ng and Jay Jen Loo and toured in Singapore, Tangent Zero with Jay Jen Loo and The Homeless of Fei Fung Street, please! for South ‘ASLI’ Dance Workshop. She is currently a freelance dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. From 2006, she has been an MFA in Dance student at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Preview of Danzzzzzling

2008-02-04T15:46:00.000+08:00

A preview of Danzzzzzling by Choreography Archival Project is now available at

http://choreographyarchival.blogspot.com

Timedrifting Choreographed by Chloe Wong

2008-01-31T19:32:00.000+08:00

A connection, a power from nature, which is most simple but teaches me how to survive in this world.

Chloe, Ching Ting Wong, started dancing at 13 and was trained at exceptional youth Dance Company in CCDC and touring to Taiwan and Guangzhou. In 2006, She graduated from The Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts（Honours）Degree in Modern Dance. She loves performing, danced with many artists’s works and was awarded a scholarship from The Society of The Academy for Performing Arts. She fascinated in choreography, presenting works including: “Between the happiness and loneliness” in Hong Kong Dance Festival 06—Site Specific Series; “Precious Thing” in Dance Platform 05; “A minute for” and “Here, There” in Choreographic Workshop 05 and 06 in HKAPA. “Here ,There” also showed in “Tari 05, International Dance Festivel—Show Case in Malaysia. “Knots”,“In Between” in HKAPA Site Specific 02 and 03. She worked with Cyrus Hun and Elaine Kwok, presented “the poem of three” in I-Dance Festival and “Sometimes” in CCDC Dance Center’s Partnership Program. After Graduated, She was awarded a scholarship from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund, to further studying a Master program at Hollins University /American Dance Festival in 2006. Her thesis was presented in HU/ADF MFA performance in ADF 07. She also showed her works in “HU/ADF MFA Thesis Concert”in New York, “Spring Dance 2007” and “Fall Dance Gathering 2006” in Hollins Theater. She got the scholarship, as a representative to take part in “Monaco Dance Forum 2006”. She is freelance choreographer, dancer and teacher. She focuses so much on creativity, sharing and respects the power of everyone’s individual values in art and the society.

Tickets are Now on Sale

2008-01-18T14:22:00.000+08:00

The 5 new works of Emerging Choreographers Series II will be performed on 16 and 17 February 2008 at the Theatre of Sheung Wan Civic Centre in a production named Danzzzzzling. Tickets are now available at all URBTIX outlets. For more information and internet tickets booking, please click to http://www2.lcsd.gov.hk/cf/search/culture/details.cfm?lang=en&id=69500.

My Tap Blog Choreographed by Anthony Suen

2008-01-17T15:10:00.000+08:00

A new blog. Up loaded with life segments, and down loaded with fragments of communications and dialogues. Everyone is welcome to click into it without limitation ...... and leave a comment.

Anthony Suen graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts majoring in Musical Theatre Dance in 2002. During his study, he was awarded a scholarship to attend a professional musical theatre training program – CAP21 from New York University. He represented the Academy and CCDC to perform in Singapore and Perth respectively. He was in various musicals including: Merrily We Roll Along, 42ndStreet, Crazy For You and Best Of Broadway; locally produced musicals including: MT Pulse Cheers!, Ben Ting Production Starry Starry Night, Springtime Hong Kong Nocturne, Drama Gallery Vagabond, Hong Kong Arts Festival programmes The Legend of the White Snake and And Then There’s You, Theatre Space DA A Translated Play, Hong Kong Musical Theatre Federation Pippin, 2004 New Year’s Eve Carnival, A Life Journey Through Musicals in "Le Bulletin du Festival 2005” which was performed in Tunisia, Musical Journey A to Z, Postcards from Broadway; and, school tours Quest of the Beauty and Bye Bye Cinderella. Recent productions include: HK 3 Arts Musical Institute Othello, and for DanceArt Butterfly Effect.

Suen established “Tap Ensemble” (www.tapensemble.hk), the only Hong Kong professional tap dance company, in 2002. The company’s first tap dance theatre show was A Place for Us. Also, the company participated in the LCSD New Year's Eve Countdown Carnival 2006. He choreographed the St. Stephen’s Girls’ College 100th Anniversary musical My Fair Lady as well as the Hok Yau Club’s original musical Brighten Your Life.

Suen has obtained the ISTD Advanced Tap Certificate and the Australia Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD) Silver Star Tap Certificate with Honours. Currently, he teaches at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts EXCEL programme, City Contemporary Dance Company Dance Centre (CCDCDC), dance studios, and other artistic companies.

Rehearsal Photos

2008-01-14T14:19:00.000+08:00

More photos by Cheung Chi Wai and Ringo Chan are posted in the following sites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22716728@N08/sets/

http://snaap.netvigator.com/netalbum2006/servlet/main?act=web_2_1_buddyalbumitems&start=1&count=42&parentid=1021603443

Please take a look.

Bet Da Man, choreographed by Jo Leung

2008-01-09T17:16:00.000+08:00

:“before opening up a mah-jong table, no one knows who will be a winner or loser. However, if you want to win, you need to continue!”

Jo Leung graduated from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee) (Formerly known as Lee Wai Lee Technical Institute) in 1996 with Diploma in Design (Visual Communication) and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, School of Dance in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Modern Dance. In 2001, she was awarded Modern Dance Lecturer's Scholarship. During her course of study in the Academy, Jo was actively involved in different productions. She also participated in Legacy in the World Dance Alliance festival - Global Dance 2002 in Dusseldorf (Germany). Jo has been actively working with local dance companies, such as Spring Poetry, YURI and company danciNG, Unlock Dancing Plaza, and E-Side Modern Dance Company. Jo has also choreographed and created several dance pieces, including a wild escape, *@#!, A Butterfly in the Stomach, Between, and Falling. She is currently a freelance dancer and dance teacher.

Substitute, choreographed by Lai Tak Wai

2008-01-07T18:07:00.000+08:00

She is heading here seeing him approaching her discovering her him has changed into another him......

Lai Tak Wai graduated from the Dance School of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Modern Dance. In 2002 he was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Dance Scholarship to further studies at the National Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Paris. He then joined the Junior Ballet Contemporain in Paris for the 2002/03 season. He followed the Academy touring to Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Brussels, and Singapore and participated in many dance productions such as The Rite of Spring and Partition in Black/Blue presented by the Academy, and Yuri Ng’s A Brave World of Suzie Wong and Dick Wong’s B.O.B* presented by Hong Kong Arts Festival. Tak Wai was a full-time dancer in Cloud Gate Dance Theater in 2005. He is now a freelance dancer. He joins CCDC in January 2008.

Season II In Progress

2007-12-31T16:09:00.000+08:00

After the success of the performance of Emerging Choreographers Series I, Taking Off, on 19 and 20 October 2007, rehearsals for Season II of the Series started immediately, in which 5 emerging choreographers, Lai Tak-wai, Jo Leung, Anthony Suen, Chloe Wong, and Wu Yi-san, began creating their new works.

By the end of December 2007, the central concepts of the 5 works had been developed, and review sessions were held on 28 December for the choreographers to show their works-in-progress. Besides the project’s Mentors, leading Hong Kong choreographer Willy Tsao also attended the reviews, and discussed the works with emerging choreographers. After the discussions, the emerging choreographers will be busy fine tuning their choreographies, and will present their exciting new works on 16 and 17 February 2008 at the Theatre of Sheung Wan Civic Centre.

Please visit the blog where future posts will introduce each of the 5 emerging choreographers and their new works.

Photo Exhibition

2007-10-14T02:14:00.000+08:00

A photo exhibition for Emerging Choreographers Series I is now taking place at the Painter's Corner in the Lobby of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, until 17 October. Most of the photos were taken from the rehearsals for the project. Come take a look!

Programme Plus (Free Administration)

2007-09-29T19:22:00.000+08:00

The Emerging Choreographers Series also organizes some free programmes for the public, including:

Lecture I “Breaking Tradition”
by Mui Check-yin, Chan Tan & Justyne Li
Date: 7 Oct
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre AC1 (4/F Administration Building)

Lecture II “Videography in Choreography”
by Koala Yip, Cody Choi and Kwok Ka Yuen
Date: 14 Oct
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre AC1 (4/F Administration Building)

Photo Exhibition
Date: 11-17 Oct
Venue: HKAPA Painter’s Corner

More Photos of Rehearsals

2007-09-14T18:42:00.000+08:00

For more photos, please click to www.popa-gala.net. Find "Emerging Choreographers Series" under "Title of Work".

More Photos of Cody in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

2007-09-06T13:56:00.000+08:00

Rehearsal Photos of Kwok Ka Yuen's "City and the Self"

2007-09-05T14:28:00.000+08:00

Rehearsal photos of Kwok Ka Yuen's choreography for Emerging Choreographers Series "City and the Self" are displayed in www.popa-gala.net. The photos are taken by photographer Jesse Clockwork. Just click into the site, chose "title of work" and then "Review (Ka Yuen)" (currently is in the 3rd page of "title of work"). Please take a look and comments.

Emerging Choreographer Cody Choi Ka Lok

2007-09-04T16:57:00.000+08:00

The first Emerging Choreographer that we are going to introduce is Cody Choi Ka-lok. Possibly a new name to many Hong Kong dance audiences, Cody is one of the most experienced Hong Kong dancers on the international stage.

A graduate from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Cody continued his dance training at Laban Centre in London, and joined the Centre’s Transitions Dance Company. He then built a career in Britain, and has just finished 3 seasons of world tours with Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (New Adventures) to Australia, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Koera, Russia, US, and UK. In England, he also worked with De Vlaamse Opera, English National Opera, Royal National Theatre, American Dance Festival, Chinese Culture Center London, The UK Chinese Acrobatics Co, and Lamat Dance (contemporary & flamenco dance), as well as choreographers such as Matthew Bourne, Arthur Pita, Neville Campbell, Saju Hari, Boi Sakti, and Sinman Yiu.

After dancing internationally for 7 years, Cody returned to Hong Kong in late July, and took off with his choreography for the Emerging Choreographers Series, right after he cleared the Airport. Within a month, he has been interviewed by the South China Morning Post, and in the article published on 28 August, titled “Re-enter, Stage Left”, written by David Phair, he told the journalist: “ I love the speed of the city. I love going to Causeway Bay or Mong Kok, walking around and feeling the energy. I find it gives me the energy to push myself and it helps me to formulate ideas. There are so many different things happening.”

It is exciting to see what Cody will bring Hong Kong audience for his Hong Kong choreographic debut, for which he will also perform.

Cody’s web site: www.codychoidance.com

Where is the new generation of HK choreographers?

2007-08-28T17:22:00.001+08:00

“… Willy Tsao and Pun Siu-fai introduced me as a newcomer. That was in 1995 but it’s 2004 and I am still seen as the young one. Actually it’s the same group of people who are still working as independent artists. Where is the new generation?”

In an interview by Professor Susan Street, former Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Dean of Dance, for the book Why They Dance, Hong Kong choreographer Daniel Yeung made this observation about the situation of Hong Kong choreographers. The same question was raised when 16 Hong Kong established choreographers choreographed and performed in My Life as a Dancer for Hong Kong Arts Festival 2007. Among these 16 Choreographers, Daniel Young, who was over 40, was still the ‘youngest’ one.

Seeing the problem, Hong Kong Arts Development Council commissioned Hong Kong Dance Alliance to organize a project for the next generation of choreographers, which became the Emerging Choreographers Series.

To help ensure the project will help the development of up-coming choreographers, the project invited 6 established choreographers to be Curators/Mentors, to select suitable participants and to mentor them. After proposal submission and interviews, 9 emerging choreographers were selected to create new works for the project.

Series I Choreographers are now busily creating and rehearsing their new works, and will present them on 19 and 20 October 2007. This blog will introduce them one by one in coming posts.