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Tag: Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

HKAPA co-presents Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area International Music Festival

Posted on by Communications Office

The Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area International Music Festival was officially launched in September. The Academy joined hands with conservatories, orchestras and universities in the Greater Bay Area to present a variety of music performances online.

The HKSAR 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert presented by the Academy was the first programme of the Festival. Other performances included the Concerto Feast from the Academy’s School of Music faculty members and students, and the School of Dance Summer Performances 2021.

Recorded versions of the HKSAR 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert and School of Dance Summer Performances 2021 are available online. The celebration concert will also be broadcast on RTHK Radio 4 programme “Youth in Harmony” on October 31.

Watch the HKSAR 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFNcYy0fkT4&t=7s

Watch the School of Dance Summer Performances 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYfyTrxPxs&t=3s

HKAPA’s School of Dance proudly launches Dance Well Classes at Artistic Spaces

Posted on by Communications Office

The Jockey Club Dance Well Project is a creative movement programme designed for people with Parkinson’s disease and people of different ages and abilities through regular dance classes and activities in artistic spaces like galleries, museums and performance venues. Organised by our School of Dance and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, this three-year Project will start the Dance Well Classes in September 2022.

Academy Director Professor Gillian Choa says, “One of the Academy’s main focuses has always been serving our community through engagement programmes of various performing art forms. We are delighted to lead this meaningful project, which aims to have a positive impact on the overall wellbeing of those with Parkinson’s disease, their families and close friends, and at the same time generate awareness of the disease in society. We are extremely grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for its kind support of the project.”

The Project is modelled after the Dance Well initiative introduced in Italy by the Municipality of Bassano del Grappa and the Centro per la Scena Contemporanea in 2013. The practice has since been extended to other Italian cities and adopted by Tokyo, Kyoto and Kanazawa in Japan. HKAPA is introducing this approach to Hong Kong and invites local dance artists to collaborate to bring an inclusive dance experience to members of the public. A scientific research will also be led by our School of Dance to assess the practices and impacts of dance on the physical functioning, psychological and social wellbeing of people with Parkinson’s disease in Hong Kong throughout the project period.

Jockey Club Dance Well Project – Dance Well Classes Details (first 2 series):

Venue: JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun (10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong), Ben Brown Fine Arts (201, The Factory, 1 Yip Fat St, Wong Chuk Hang)

Date: Sep 30, 2022 to Nov 25, 2022 (Designated Wednesday & Friday)

Time: 9:45 am – 10:45 am

12 Sessions, Free Admission

Venue: Rehearsal Room, Xiqu Centre (88 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon)

Date: Nov 9, 2022 to Dec 30, 2022 (Designated Monday, Wednesday & Friday)

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

12 Sessions, Free Admission

For details, please visit: https://jcdancewell.hkapa.edu/

HKAPA Presents: Academy Cello Festival 2022

Posted on by Communications Office

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is proud to present the first Cello Festival this summer from Jul 30 to Aug 6, 2022.

A series of concerts by former and current students and faculty members of the Strings Department of the School of Music will be brought to the audience, featuring new cello repertoires while refreshing already well-loved pieces. The event aims to promote excellence in individual and ensemble playing. The Academy Cello Festival hopes to motivate cellists to unleash their full potential and reach new heights artistically through exploring different cello pieces.

Programme details of the Festival :
https://www.hkapa.edu/music/event/series/2022

HKAPA, Swire launch Greater Bay Area youth orchestra

Posted on by Communications Office

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) proudly celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR at the HKSAR 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert with the generous support from the Swire Group. The Academy, in partnership with the Swire Group, also announced the founding of the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra – a pioneering youth initiative to foster cultural exchange across the region.

Established and directed by HKAPA, with the support of the Swire Group as Founding Patron, the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra aspires to be one of the finest youth orchestras in Asia. It will aim to raise the standard of classical performances in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to new heights, by bringing together talented young musicians from across the region for professional training under the auspices of HKAPA, as well as offering opportunities for performance and cultural exchange. Commencing this autumn, 2022, the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra will begin to enrol its first intake of around 80-100 young musicians aged between 16 and 24 years from Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau.

“As an internationally recognised conservatoire, HKAPA is committed to promoting Hong Kong as a global centre of excellence for the arts and cultural exchange,” said HKAPA Director, Professor Gillian Choa. “It therefore gives me great pleasure, in partnership with Swire Group, to announce the formation of the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra – a unique opportunity to nurture talented young musicians from cities around the GBA, enabling them to develop to their fullest potential. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the HKSAR Government for its commitment to the arts and unfaltering support for HKAPA over the years. My thanks also go to the Swire Group for their sponsorship of tonight’s very special concert, combining the talents of various music institutes around the GBA in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.”

“Swire is delighted to be Founding Patron of the Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra,” said Guy Bradley, Chairman of John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited. “We are very excited by the potential offered by this new initiative to promote Hong Kong as Asia’s city of culture and creativity and we hope that through music, we can encourage the development of closer connections between young people from all parts of the Greater Bay Area.”

“The Greater Bay Area Youth Orchestra will provide a platform for talented young orchestral players from our neighbouring cities to share their passion for music,” said Professor Sharon Andrea Choa, HKAPA’s Head of Conducting and Cultural Leadership (Music). “Our aim is to enrich the artistic visions of our younger generation, enabling them to see their future beyond geographic or cultural boundaries.”

“The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Presents: HKSAR 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert” programme included three contrasting works performed by the Academy Symphony Orchestra: Dai Pai Dong, an award-winning work inspired by the unique Hong Kong culinary culture; guzheng concerto Rushi; and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op.80, with the Academy Choir. Xinghai Conservatory of Music, the Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra Association and the Shenzhen Arts School also provided special video performances for tonight’s programme. Guest conductors included Maestros, Lio Kuokman and Lin Daye.

To celebrate the HKSAR’s 25th anniversary, some tickets for the concert were distributed free to members of the public and the concert was also livestreamed on the HKAPA website and on RTHK TV32 for audiences in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland to enjoy the performances of talented musicians from the region. A video of the occasion will also be made available online; please stay tuned to the Academy website and social media channels for updates.

HKAPA School of Dance and Akram Khan internship programme

Posted on by Communications Office

As part of the collaboration between The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts‘ School of Dance and the Akram Khan Company in the 2021/22 academic year, eight final year students from the School of Dance were selected after three rounds of rigorous online auditions to participate in a seven-week internship in London. The internship started in late January, as the fifth wave of the pandemic swept through Hong Kong.

Coping with much uncertainty arising from Hong Kong’s Covid restrictions and constant changes in travelling regulations, the students began their internship online before travelling to London for the remaining five weeks. They were assigned to understudy particular roles in one of the Akram Khan Company’s latest productions, Jungle Book Reimagined. Despite the new environment and intense rehearsals posing many challenges to the students, they all engaged fully in a professional company environment, made swift progress and equipped themselves to be ready as professional dance artists.

Two of the students, Yam Wing-nam and Jan Mikaela Bautista Villanueva, were selected to attend the three-week production residency and the world premiere in Leicester. Mikaela’s excellent performance earned her a place as a guest artist at the world premiere and a contract with the Akram Khan Company as a professional dancer.

HKAPA presents SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival

Posted on by Communications Office

Presented by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, The 1st SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival, held virtually from June 17 to 25, is specially curated for the international dance community to meet, innovate, research, share and dance.

Join SWEAT to see the work-in-progress presentations from the cross-cultural residency across 4 cities; enter a virtual global stage of dance with screenings from numerous dance academies & selected commissioned dance films; and meet artists, scholars and other practitioners and learn from world-renowned dance artists at the World Dance Alliance (WDA) Global Summit.

Three Programmes with 3 Festival Passes:

ArtsCross Hong Kong 2022

17 June 2022 (Fri)

Encounter creative residents at ArtsCross Hong Kong 2022 for a global digital research project that investigates new possibilities between dance and technology with multicultural perspectives.

Digital International Festival for Dance Academies

18 – 21 June 2022 (Sat – Tue)

Celebrate the connection of 15 international dance academies at the first Digital International Festival for Dance Academies (IFDA) for a thrilling series of staged performances and original film screenings performed and created by the freshest dance talents in the world and student-led forum.

World Dance Alliance Global Summit

22 – 25 June 2022 (Wed – Sat)

Immerse in thought-provoking conversations and presentations of the World Dance Alliance Global Summit 2022 and navigate new pathways for arts, dance and wellness in the post-pandemic world and empower the dance artists of tomorrow in practice and research.

For details & tickets, please visit: https://sweat-festival.hkapa.edu/

Festival Partner: Hong Kong Dance Alliance (HKDA)

Supported by: Hong Kong Arts Development Council(HKADC)

HKAPA School of Film and Television’s “Dance In The End” selected for screening in the 7th Jacksonville Dance Film Festival 2022 and as an Honourable Mention in the Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival

Posted on by Communications Office

School of Film and Television’s Master of Fine Arts Project “Dance In The End“ has been selected for screening in the 7th Jacksonville Dance Film Festival 2022 to be held in Florida, US. It has also been selected as an Honourable Mention in the Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival.

Jacksonville Dance Film Festival is an extension of Jacksonville Dance Theatre, which “aims to connect diverse audiences, cultures, and creative communities through the universal language of film and movement.”

Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival is a monthly film festival in which a film wins the award of the current month, and the 12 monthly winners compete for the annual award of “Best Movie of the Year”.

HKAPA holds online introductory talks on dance and Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on by Communications Office

Have you ever imagined dance contributing to the wellbeing of the elderly with Parkinson’s disease?

Professor Anna Cy Chan, Dean of Dance of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, along with overseas and local arts and healthcare practitioners, will discuss the inclusive design of the Dance Well initiative, how dance can positively affect wellbeing, physical movement and social integration for those living with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers. The talk will also take a look at the disease and its related healthcare interventions.

Talk 1: Dance Well engine of social inclusion, intercultural and inter-generational collaboration
6.4.2022 (Wed) 15:30 – 17:00
Talk 2: Impact of dance on people with Parkinson’s disease
8.4.2022 (Fri) 16:00 – 17:30
Talk 3: Introduction to Parkinson’s disease, medical interventions, rehabilitation practices, relevance of dance for the well-being of those living with the disease and their caregivers
14.4.2022 (Thu) 15:00 – 17:00

Details and enrol: https://forms.gle/QZsFXDN2AK73EyM69 (Deadline of Registration: 2 days before each webinar)

The Jockey Club Dance Well Project is organised by the School of Dance of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, it is a creative movement programme designed to include people with Parkinson’s disease and people of different ages and abilities through regular dance classes and activities in artistic spaces. The project is developed from the Dance Well initiative originated in Italy in 2013. Live-streaming experiential classes led by Dance Well teacher in Italy are also open to everyone including those with Parkinson’s disease.

Details & enrol: https://forms.gle/fPcLKcAUPsNw9Ndm7

 

HKAPA’s School of Dance digital dance film debut “METAMorphoses”

Posted on by Communications Office

In collaboration with cutting-edge British contemporary dance artist Alexandra Whitley and digital media artist Neal Coghlan, the School of Dance of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts created its digital dance film debut named “METAMorphoses”.

In the creative process, nine graduating students from the School of Dance wore Perception Neuron Motion Capture suits for movement exploration and data collection.

They were challenged to use dynamic objects to navigate complex sensing spaces, and explore motion-sensing, body memory, and visual empathy.

Take a look at the exceptional creation: https://bit.ly/3hUf8O1

HKAPA’s Junior Music Programme calling for applications

Posted on by Communications Office

The Junior Music Programme at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is known as one of the most comprehensive programmes of music instruction for talented young people in Hong Kong and has produced many award-winning alumni since the inception of the Academy in 1984.

Its broad-based curriculum includes individual instruction, general musicianship, choral and ensemble activities and performance opportunities, and provides all-round musical training in an atmosphere where artistic gifts and technical skills can flourish.

Deadline for applications: Saturday April 9, 2022

Enquiries: [email protected] (application); [email protected] (programme)

For details: https://www.hkapa.edu/music/junior-music-programme