dance

INTERVIEW: Jonathan Burrows (Burrows & Fargion)

Interview

Choreographer Jonathon Burrows speaks to The Prickle about a new Burrows & Fargion double bill at Sadler’s Wells: Rewriting (2019), and Science Fiction (2021).

– Who are your inspirations?

I think the interesting thing is how many different, overlapping and constantly changing inspirations people have, which reflects the ways in which culture is always about the work of the many, rather than a few select individuals. And I love how the things you love don’t have to make sense together. I love dub reggae sound system culture, but I also play English folk music.

– You and composer Matteo Fargion been collaborators for thirty years; how have you managed to work together all this time?

I think Matteo is a very patient person, but also we don’t have many meetings and that seems to help.

– Burrows & Fargion pieces straddle the line between dance, music, performance art and comedy. How would you describe a typical audience member?

We have three philosophies about audience, which have kept us going over the years. The first is, “Whoever comes is the right person”. The second is, “How the audience sit is how we should sit”. And the third is, “Equal together under the same roof”. When these ideas work, people spontaneously seem to walk onstage at the end, to look at our scores and talk. And then you find out there’s no typical audience member at all.

– What’s next for Burrows & Fargion?

We don’t really make plans for the future, but rather just try to keep going with our practice, and all the parts of the practice are important, including performing, teaching, talking, writing and so on. For twenty years we’ve had no office and no regular funding, and we share all aspects of the work and pay equally. We like it that way, as it means we don’t have to make any promises about what we might or might not manage to do.

Burrows & Fargion Rewriting and Science Fiction plays at Sadler’s Wells 5 – 6 May 2022.

The Prickle - About transp

INTERVIEW | Septime Webre

Interview

Septime Webre is the artistic director of Hong Kong Ballet. He was kind enough to talk to us about Hong Kong Ballet’s new, upcoming production of The Nutcracker.

What made you decide it’s time for a new production of The Nutcracker?

The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition – the Christmas season just wouldn’t be the same without it! Our current production is almost ten years old, and it seemed like the right time for a make-over. The new production is set in early twentieth century Hong Kong, and is a celebration of Hong Kong’s culture, history and natural beauty – I think it will resonate with Hong Kong people.

What about all those audiences who still love the old production of The Nutcracker?

The essence of the previous production is to be found in the majestic Tchaikovsky score, and that remains intact. In fact, the music is the heart of The Nutcracker, and this new production provides the roadmap: it’s very much a return to the original ballet’s concepts, a charming story of a young girl’s marvellous journey to magical new lands.

What have been your major aims for Hong Kong Ballet, since taking on the role of artistic director in 2017?

We have long been one of Asia’s premier ballet companies—our goal is also to be its most forward-looking, with a focus on being cherished locally and respected globally.  We’ve endeavoured to reflect Hong Kong more thoroughly, while simultaneously raising the classical standards of the company. And we’re achieving our goals!

What’s next for Hong Kong Ballet?

So much exciting new work!  A major residency at M+, Hong Kong’s new signature contemporary art museum; the return of Yuri Ng’s lively Ballet Classics for Children: Swan Lake; a mixed bill which celebrates the rule-breakers of ballet; a new full-length ballet about the life of Coco Chanel, and more!

Playing 11 – 26 December 2021 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.

The Prickle - About transp

MATCHES 球賽 | Hong Kong, Cultural Centre (online)

Recommended

Y-Space’s innovative sport dance show, “Matches”, was scheduled to take over the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from April to December 2020, but the live performance was still impossible due to the pandemic. Fortunately for us, this coliseum-like, game-influenced dance piece is now available to stream online as a “Director’s Edition”.

In order to let audiences have a more comprehensive, deeper experience with “Matches”, the Director’s Edition retains the superb performances of the performers, with a clearer concept and a more intense atmosphere. Those who have watched the show already will be able to recall the impact of “Matches”; while newcomers have a brand new chance to experience it.

Y-Space was founded in 1995 by Victor Choi-wo Ma and Mandy Ming-yin Yim in Hong Kong, with the mission of exploring the infinite possibilities of dance, and searching for new dance idioms and new artistic directions. Now in its 18th year, Y-Space has become an important arts group on the Hong Kong contemporary dance through creating new work, promoting dance and providing training, education and research work through activities conducted at community level and at the Y-Space Dance Studio.

As for the show itself: “The game is fair,” they say. Rules are written; the game is changing. Who will win? Who will lose? And, at the end; who decides?

Available for online streaming until 1 March 2021.

The Prickle - About transp

HK BALLET SEASON 2020/2021 | Hong Kong

Recommended


Don Quixote | Li Lin and Hong Kong Ballet Dancers | Photographer: Conrad Dy-Liacco | Courtesy of Hong Kong Ballet

We could not be more thrilled that Hong Kong Ballet, Asia’s premier ballet company, is pirouetting, glissading and jetéing back into live performance starting 30 October 2020.

This new season is bursting with classics, including: Don Quixote (30 October 2020); The Nutcracker (18 December 2020); Artistic Director Septime Webre’s Ballet Classics for Children: Cinderella, featuring a stripped-down and narrated version of Prokofiev’s score (30 January 2021); Balanchine’s Jewels (21 May 2021); and Septime Webre’s new Romeo + Juliet, with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta on Prokofiev’s iconic score (18 June 2021).

In addition, Hong Kong Ballet will be running turn(it)out festival for two weeks at West Kowloon Cultural District’s Freespace, kicking off with an opening gala on 29 January 2021. The Vivaldi / Handel Project follows on 5 February 2021, along with a ton of interactive, family-friendly activities and events throughout the two weeks.

Artistic Director Septime Webre says that the central theme for the new season is, quite simply, love: “The word “love” infuses absolutely everything at Hong Kong Ballet: love of being a dance artist, and love for our amazing city, which has seen and experienced so much this past year. Love fuels the dedicated work we do, and drives the innovative ways we engage with the community. Love is not about getting – it’s about giving.” Well, we certainly cannot wait to celebrate this love for ballet in Hong Kong again.

Read Hong Kong Ballet’s new brochure and get booking.

The Prickle - About transp

HONG KONG LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL: OPENING PARTY | Hong Kong, Woobar @ W Hotel

Recommended

To celebrate the 30th anniversary year of the longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in Asia, the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKLGFF) kicked off with two packed-house screenings and a dynamite party in Kowloon. All ticket holders to the opening screenings of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (How I Felt When I Saw That Girl) (2019) or Les Crevettes Pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps) (2019) were invited to the party, with free drinks sponsored by Finlandia and Jack Daniel’s.

Before the screenings, executive director Raymond Leung presented this year’s Prism Award to Angus Leung, on behalf of him and his husband Scott Adams, for spending the past five years battling local government to recognise their marriage in Hong Kong.

At Woobar, DJs Janette Slack and Melody Lane delivered a stream of feel-good club classics with the occasional remix. Short, live performances injected some fresh energy, too. KiKi house of Marciano brought their mixed-gender, PVC-clad voguing trio, which went down an absolute storm. Drag Jam did some fun lip-syncing and also posed for some photo opportunities with fans.

Although primarily geared up for a young, nightclub-going crowd, there was a glorious mix of ages, nationalities and styles, embracing Hong Kong’s diversity. A huge amount has changed over the past thirty years: 1991 saw the legalisation of homosexuality, and Hong Kong’s annual Pride parade started in 2008. But there is still no legal recognition of any same-sex relationships, and limited protection against discrimination. The fight for visibility continues.

Book online for all upcoming events, including the closing party on 21 September 2019.

The Prickle - About transp

2018 HONG KONG BALLET BALL: THE GATSBY CHRISTMAS SOIRÉE | Hong Kong, Grand Hyatt Hotel

Event

As one of the signature charity balls in town, the Hong Kong Ballet Ball boasts a history of 33 years. The funds raised on Tuesday 4 December 2018 will be used for Asia’s premier ballet company to continue staging inspiring productions, encouraging emerging choreographers, nurturing the next generation of audiences, as well as launching education and community outreach events.

The guest-list of more than 300 society figures and celebrities attended an evening of fine dining and fabulous entertainment. This Great Gatsby Gala took the guests back to the roaring twenties with its themed decorations and Art Deco chandeliers.

The stylish black-tie event featured mesmerising performances from Hong Kong Ballet’s upcoming production, Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby, and a very special Christmas trees charity auction. In addition, guests bid on luxury items at the silent auction and danced the night away after the dinner, courtesy of a live jazz band.

In collaboration with Key Partner LANDMARK, three stunning Christmas trees elegantly decorated by world famous brands Balmain, Cartier and Jimmy Choo from the Ballet for All Christmas Tree Campaign were auctioned at the Ball. These trees will be reconstructed by the brands at the donors’ designated locations afterwards, further spreading the joy of sharing through families and corporations.

The proceeds of the charity auction will be used to support the staging of a Relaxed Performance customised for special needs audiences with autism or intellectual disabilities and their caregivers.

View this post on Instagram

【 The 2018 Hong Kong Ballet Ball: The Gatsby Christmas Soiree │2018香港芭蕾舞團：《大亨小傳》聖誕籌款晚會】 The 2018 Hong Kong Ballet Ball: The Gatsby Christmas Soiree was held successfully last night! This Great Gatsby Gala took us back to the Roaring Twenties with its exquisite Art Deco themed ballroom and mesmerising performances from our upcoming production in February 2019– Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby, and a very special Christmas trees charity auction. Guests danced the night away with a live jazz band! 昨晚舉行的「2018香港芭蕾舞團：《大亨小傳》聖誕籌款晚會」以舞團明年2月公演，由藝術總監衛承天創作之《大亨小傳》、咆哮的二十年代為主題。當晚由香港芭蕾舞團舞蹈員演出《大亨小傳》的精彩選段，以及別開生面的聖誕樹慈善拍賣，嘉賓在爵士樂隊的現場伴奏下翩翩起舞，盡興而歸！ #hkballet #hkballetball2018 #thegatsbychristmassoiree #TheGreatGatsby #LANDMARK #PerrierJouët #HongKongTatler #GrandHyattHongKong #Balmain #Cartier #JimmyChoo #SeptimeWebre

A post shared by Hong Kong Ballet (@hongkongballet) on

Hong Kong Ballet’s The Nutcracker opens Friday 14 December 2018.

The Prickle - About transp

MAGIC MIKE: LIVE | London, Hippodrome Casino

Recommended

Magic Mike: Live, conceived and directed by Channing Tatum, opened in Las Vegas on March 2017 and has been playing to screaming, sold-out crowds every night since. The time has come for the all-new, first-class entertainment experience based on the hit films Magic Mike (2012) and Magic Mike XXL (2015) to come to London.

Enter Magic Mike’s mythical nightclub, Club Domina — “where women are always on top” — and marvel as thirteen of the hottest, most talented men in the country perform in front of, behind, and on top of the excited audience. It’s a kind of “Magic Mike III”: a sizzling, immersive, dance and acrobatic strip tease spectacular, guaranteed to bring on the heat.

Following a mutli-million pound transformation of the Hippodrome Casino theatre space, the smash-hit Vegas show promises: “a place where women can feel what it’s like to exist in a world where their desires are heard and they are treated like goddesses… a place where they feel comfortable and proud to express the full force of their sexual energy together.”

The 80-minute show will run twice nightly, at 19:30 and 22:00. Opening on 10 November 2018, every performance is already nearly sold-out until mid January 2019, due to overwhelming demand, so be sure to book early. Strictly for over 18s only, and photo ID is required.

Check out the gallery on the Magic Mike: Live website and get excited.

The Prickle - About transp