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November 2011
THE HONG Kong Ballet commissioned three of today’s most promising contemporary choreographers, Peter Quanz, Kinsun Chan and Fei Bo to create new ballets for the Company - the result is a trio of powerful, thought-provoking ballets. The creative process continues as Kinsun Chan and Fei Bo have started rehearsals in Hong Kong to share their vision with the dancers. All three works will be featured in Moments In Time, to be staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre from 4 to 6 November 2011.
The Hong Kong Ballet is delighted to host two Chinese choreographers who are rapidly gaining recognition on the world stage. Fei Bo, who is the Resident Choreographer of the National Ballet of China, and Kinsun Chan will both be presenting WORLD PREMIÈRES at Moments In Time. Kinsun Chan has established a reputation as an outstanding choreographer, working in North America and Europe and he has strong links with Hong Kong, his parents’ home town. Fei Bo, a 2011 Asian Cultural Council Grantee, recently took his production of The Peony Pavilion to the Edinburgh International Festival. The third ballet is a restaging of a work by Canadian Peter Quanz, who has worked with the Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet, and three of his works have just been staged at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre.
Q: What’s the most exciting aspect of this commission?
Fei Bo: It’s fantastic that The Hong Kong Ballet believes in our talents - the support helps us to grow artistically. I relish the opportunity to create a ballet piece for Hong Kong, a city with many "cultural clashes", between East and West and also between different art forms. The idea of using a Western art form to express Eastern emotions has always been attractive to me, so I can’t wait for the piece to be performed! It has been a joy working with The Hong Kong Ballet dancers, they are supremely professional, and they have a bright, youthful energy that I love.
Q: How do you hope to affect the audience with your work?
Kinsun Chan: I would like to awaken the senses of the public to the inspiration of this work, the colour black. I hope the audience embraces this opportunity to experience the use of classical ballet technique in a wider, more extreme format, so that their minds are open to a dialogue with contemporary ballet.
Q: How do you feel about working with The Hong Kong Ballet?
Kinsun Chan: I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with The Hong Kong Ballet. This is my first work for a dance company in Asia, an important stepping stone for me. On one hand, the company is a wonderful group of technically trained dancers as well as excellent artists, an inspiration for a choreographer. When Madeleine invited me to create a new work for the company, I knew that the company was the right place to present the world première of Black on Black. On the other hand my family ties are well rooted in Hong Kong, it's a real honour and pleasure to choreograph a new work in the home town of my parents and many relatives, it’s a sort of homecoming for me.
Peter Quanz: The Hong Kong Ballet is a refined mix of artists from around the world. The company can boast many strong dancers, but more interestingly, they are fascinating people. I loved how dancers wove their personal histories into the choreography of Luminous. They referenced traditional Chinese dancing and found ways to make my movement adopt the fluidity and elegance of the best calligrapher. I was profoundly moved by the dancers’ way of working, and the emotional vulnerability that they offer to the public. It was an inspiration to serve these dancers, to reveal new aspects of their artistry and I hope that it will not be long before I am collaborating with the Company again.
Q: Tell us about what you are currently working on
Fei Bo: My next project is an educational trip to the United States, which is funded by the Asian Cultural Council. I am really looking forward to taking part in a residential program at the Mark Morris Dance Company and meeting leading choreographers in New York and across the United States.
Peter Quanz: The past six months have been an extraordinary period of creation with new ballets for the Buryatian National Ballet in Russia and for my own company, Q Dance. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens premiered my new full length story ballet called Rodin/Claudel in Montreal on October 13. And just before that, the Buryatian National Ballet performed three of my ballets at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was a champagne problem to have these two dream projects scheduled in one week!
Q: Why did you invite these three choreographers in particular?
Madeleine Onne, Artistic Director of The Hong Kong Ballet: Each of these choreographers is a striking and unique artist. Kinsun shares our vision of the male dancer as a central element of the dance, rather than just a partner - we are lucky to have fantastic boys in the Company, so we are proud to show them off! We seek to strengthen our ties with the Mainland, and Fei Bo, resident choreographer at The National Ballet of China, helps us to do just that. Anyone who saw the excerpt of his ballet at Galaxy: International Ballet Gala earlier this year felt the emotional and psychological impact of his work. Our dancers have worked with Peter Quanz before, he’s an inspirational choreographer, and we are pleased to showcase his work again. While these three creators have all had great success already, we believe they still have untapped potential, and by commissioning them we hope to support and encourage the next generation of choreographers.
The Hong Kong Ballet’s dancers will lead the audience through a sequence of different moments in time. Tickets are available NOW at all URBTIX outlets and via the URBTIX website, www.urbtix.hk <http://www.urbtix.hk/>. For more details, please visit www.hkballet.com <http://www.hkballet.com/>
The Hong Kong Ballet is delighted to host two Chinese choreographers who are rapidly gaining recognition on the world stage. Fei Bo, who is the Resident Choreographer of the National Ballet of China, and Kinsun Chan will both be presenting WORLD PREMIÈRES at Moments In Time. Kinsun Chan has established a reputation as an outstanding choreographer, working in North America and Europe and he has strong links with Hong Kong, his parents’ home town. Fei Bo, a 2011 Asian Cultural Council Grantee, recently took his production of The Peony Pavilion to the Edinburgh International Festival. The third ballet is a restaging of a work by Canadian Peter Quanz, who has worked with the Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet, and three of his works have just been staged at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre.
Q: What’s the most exciting aspect of this commission?
Fei Bo: It’s fantastic that The Hong Kong Ballet believes in our talents - the support helps us to grow artistically. I relish the opportunity to create a ballet piece for Hong Kong, a city with many "cultural clashes", between East and West and also between different art forms. The idea of using a Western art form to express Eastern emotions has always been attractive to me, so I can’t wait for the piece to be performed! It has been a joy working with The Hong Kong Ballet dancers, they are supremely professional, and they have a bright, youthful energy that I love.
Q: How do you hope to affect the audience with your work?
Kinsun Chan: I would like to awaken the senses of the public to the inspiration of this work, the colour black. I hope the audience embraces this opportunity to experience the use of classical ballet technique in a wider, more extreme format, so that their minds are open to a dialogue with contemporary ballet.
Q: How do you feel about working with The Hong Kong Ballet?
Kinsun Chan: I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with The Hong Kong Ballet. This is my first work for a dance company in Asia, an important stepping stone for me. On one hand, the company is a wonderful group of technically trained dancers as well as excellent artists, an inspiration for a choreographer. When Madeleine invited me to create a new work for the company, I knew that the company was the right place to present the world première of Black on Black. On the other hand my family ties are well rooted in Hong Kong, it's a real honour and pleasure to choreograph a new work in the home town of my parents and many relatives, it’s a sort of homecoming for me.
Peter Quanz: The Hong Kong Ballet is a refined mix of artists from around the world. The company can boast many strong dancers, but more interestingly, they are fascinating people. I loved how dancers wove their personal histories into the choreography of Luminous. They referenced traditional Chinese dancing and found ways to make my movement adopt the fluidity and elegance of the best calligrapher. I was profoundly moved by the dancers’ way of working, and the emotional vulnerability that they offer to the public. It was an inspiration to serve these dancers, to reveal new aspects of their artistry and I hope that it will not be long before I am collaborating with the Company again.
Q: Tell us about what you are currently working on
Fei Bo: My next project is an educational trip to the United States, which is funded by the Asian Cultural Council. I am really looking forward to taking part in a residential program at the Mark Morris Dance Company and meeting leading choreographers in New York and across the United States.
Peter Quanz: The past six months have been an extraordinary period of creation with new ballets for the Buryatian National Ballet in Russia and for my own company, Q Dance. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens premiered my new full length story ballet called Rodin/Claudel in Montreal on October 13. And just before that, the Buryatian National Ballet performed three of my ballets at the legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was a champagne problem to have these two dream projects scheduled in one week!
Q: Why did you invite these three choreographers in particular?
Madeleine Onne, Artistic Director of The Hong Kong Ballet: Each of these choreographers is a striking and unique artist. Kinsun shares our vision of the male dancer as a central element of the dance, rather than just a partner - we are lucky to have fantastic boys in the Company, so we are proud to show them off! We seek to strengthen our ties with the Mainland, and Fei Bo, resident choreographer at The National Ballet of China, helps us to do just that. Anyone who saw the excerpt of his ballet at Galaxy: International Ballet Gala earlier this year felt the emotional and psychological impact of his work. Our dancers have worked with Peter Quanz before, he’s an inspirational choreographer, and we are pleased to showcase his work again. While these three creators have all had great success already, we believe they still have untapped potential, and by commissioning them we hope to support and encourage the next generation of choreographers.
The Hong Kong Ballet’s dancers will lead the audience through a sequence of different moments in time. Tickets are available NOW at all URBTIX outlets and via the URBTIX website, www.urbtix.hk <http://www.urbtix.hk/>. For more details, please visit www.hkballet.com <http://www.hkballet.com/>
Q&A with Peter Quanz, Kinsun Chan and Fei Bo
three of today’s most promising contemporary choreographers
three of today’s most promising contemporary choreographers
Moments In Time - two world premières by Chinese choreographers
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