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Yuri Ng's Firecracker
[Hong Kong - 14 December 2009 Updated] A journey into the past as well as a ride into the future, Hong Kong-based choreographer Yuri Ng's Firecracker transports a revisioning of the traditional festive fantasy The Nutcracker into a Hong Kong experience. Firecracker will be staged at the Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre for 5 performances from 5-7 February 2010. Ng's Firecracker is a personal voyage that began with the choreographer's experience as a dancer in the 1980s when, as part of an overseas ballet company, he would find himself performing the perennial Christmas show away from his family. His experience culminates in a contemporary ballet piece which explores the history of Hong Kong when the city is on the brink of a shifting social landscape and accelerating economic development in the late 1960s. Taking E T A Hoffman's Nutcracker story as a base, the characters are reinvented and transplanted from their European roots into a new setting based around Hong Kong popular culture and history. Beginning in 1967 and speeding forward through events and fragments of memories, Firecracker recalls the experience of watching film trailers of old Cantonese films, as stars of yesteryears, parade floats and visits by Royalties drift by in a seamless vignette of recollections. But not all of Firecracker's memories are straightforward, the central protagonist is no longer the young girl Clara in the Occidental tale. The focus is re-directed to the role of the caring uncle who brought Clara the Nutcracker. In Firecracker, the uncle takes centre stage - re-cast as an elderly character - as he reminiscences the past, while old recollections come alive and soar into the present. The inspiration for Firecracker - its mix of East and West, past and present, as well as a nostalgic yearning for the past - is reflective of Hong Kong and its inhabitants. With a checkered history that runs over the past decades, this ballet piece is reflective of a unique Hong Kong sensibility that holds its resonance. Programme Plus
Tickets for Firecracker, priced from HK$380 to HK$180 (HK$500 for VIP ticket), are available from 17 December 2009 at all URBTIX outlets (Tel. 27349009/www.urbtix.hk). About the Choreographer Born in Hong Kong, Ng received ballet training in Hong Kong, Canada and England. He was awarded the Adeline Genee Gold Medal from the Royal Academy of Dancing in 1983 before joining The National Ballet of Canada as a dancer. Since his return to Asia in 1993, Yuri has choreographed for various performing companies including The Hong Kong Ballet, Hong Kong Dance Company, Zuni Icosahedrons, Cloudgate Dance Theatre 2 (Taiwan), Singapore Dance Theatre, and Archi-Tanz (Japan). Yuri received the Artist of the Year Award – Choreographer, from the Hong Kong Artists’ Guild in 1997. In 1998, he was awarded Prix D’auteur at the sixth Rencontres Choreographiques Internationale de Seine-St- Denis (Bagnolet) with his choreography of Boy Story. His choreographies of Ciao Ciao Suzie Wong, Rite Of Spring, Min Jian Chuan Qi and A Soldier’s Story received the Hong Kong Dance Alliance Dance Award 1999, 2004, 2006 and 2008 respectively. About the Associate ChoreographerYuh Egami Born in Okinawa, Japan. Started his ballet education locally and later at the Royal Ballet School in London. He was awarded Third Prize in Ursula Morton Choreographic Competition in 2001, and he performed with both of The Royal Ballet and The Birmingham Royal Ballet during his study in London. After joining The Hong Kong Ballet in 2002, he has appeared in various soloist roles in The Hong Kong Ballet’s repertoire, including Spanish dance in The Nutcracker, Executed Prince in Turandot, Lead Jester in Cinderella, lead dancer of Pontevedria in Merry Widow, Trio in Clear, Steptext and such. He created several dance pieces for the Company’s choreographic workshops from 2005 to 2008, including Kagé, Sakula, and Collage of One.Firecracker 5 February 2010 (7:30pm) Tickets available at all URBTIX outlets from 17 December 2009 Choreographer: Yuri Ng About The Hong Kong Ballet Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, The Hong Kong Ballet is one of the premier classical ballet companies in Asia. It is also becoming internationally recognized as a world-class institution with an identity that fully reflects the unique vitality of Hong Kong. The Company's artistic team originates from 12 countries and regions, performing a repertoire that combines 19th and 20th century classical masterpieces, acclaimed contemporary works and new commissions. Since 1997, The Hong Kong Ballet has raised its international profile and has concluded over 20 tours. Another integral part of the Company's activities are its extensive educational and community outreach programmes, which bring the art of ballet to students as well as the wider community of Hong Kong. For further information on The Hong Kong Ballet, please contact:
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