The "Silk Road Lecture Series", in which local art experts will be invited to speak about the diversification of Silk Road culture, will be held in January. The series is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Details of each lecture are as follows:
Topic: The Central Asian Style of Uyghur Music and its Resonance along the Silk Road
Date: January 9 (Wednesday)
Speaker: Dr Wong Chuen-fung
Content: This talk looks at the continuities between Uyghur music and other Turkic, Persian, and Arab traditions in Central Asia and the broader Middle East. It will be complemented by a performance demonstration of traditional instruments like the tembur, dutar, satar and rawap by members of Project Puraq and the Nur Collective, and will explore compositions and improvisations around the maqÄ�m category of rÄ�st–panjigÄ�h found across the Eurasian Silk Road.
Topic: Presenting Dunhuang on Stage
Date: January 16 (Wednesday)
Speaker: Enid Chung
Content: The dance drama spectacular "Silk Road, Flower Rain" premiered in 1979. Using Dunhuang dance as the theme, it attracted widespread attention and discussion after its debut. Since then, initiatives like the Dunhuang dance style, Dunhuang College, and Dunhuang Research Academy have been established. The year 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of research into and creation of the Dunhuang dance. Through dance works like "Silk Road, Flower Rain", "Dunhuang Dream", "Apsaras", "The Thousand-hand Bodhisattva" and related literature, this presentation will attempt to explore and examine the inheritance and evolution of the style of Dunhuang dance over the last 40 years.
Topic: Dunhuang Grottoes and Atmospheric Music Theatre
Date: January 23 (Wednesday)
Speaker: Professor Law Wing-fai and Wong Chi-ching
Moderator: Dr Cheung Pui-shan
Content: The Dunhuang Grottoes represent an intrinsic time and intrinsic space, where Oriental religious views and ethereal feelings permeate. They evoke a mythical, poetic outlook from artistic creators in their quest for novel imagery. The inspiration for the atmospheric musical theatre which Professor Law has advocated for many years came from Dunhuang, which opened his eyes to the meaning of "creation". The stage setting is like a mystic space, or a series of frescos that slowly open up like a scroll. The cohesive, profound atmosphere of the theatre is like a ritual of life in the grottoes. It permeates the soul and inspires contemplation and meditation.
Topic: Dunhuang Dance – Ancient and Modern
Date: January 30 (Wednesday)
Speaker: Felix Chen Lei
Content: As vivid representations of the music-and-dance culture of ancient China, the Dunhuang frescoes and sculptures have often been described as "the confluence of a hundred sources, magnificent in breadth and depth". The "fusion and reciprocity" of the humanistic characteristics of different ethnic groups and the aesthetic features over the centuries have forged the creation of unique Dunhuang art that is both timeless and influential. This lecture focuses on the fusion and reciprocity characteristics of Dunhuang art and culture. The speaker will share his interpretation of the iconic physical movements of Dunhuang dance from a professional choreographer's perspective. There will also be a guided appreciation of classical dance and award-winning works. By reconstructing the rhythmic movements of 2D images and with creative imagination, stillness becomes motion, and figures on the walls will seem to come alive and dance.
All lectures will be held at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Space Museum. Tickets priced at $50 for each session are now available URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/dance/programs_696.html.