Contemporary dance production “4Seasons” begins Australia tour (with photos)

     "4Seasons", featuring three new choreographic contemporary dance inspired by climate and life and a journey of discovery with dancers from Hong Kong and Brisbane, commenced in Australia at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane on June 14.

     A two-year choreographic project of Hong Kong's City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) and Brisbane-based Expressions Dance Company (EDC), "4Seasons" premiered in Hong Kong from June 1 to 3 this year. The tour in Australia comprises performances at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane from June 14 to 16 and from June 20 to 22, and at the Darwin Entertainment Centre in Darwin on June 29 and 30. The Australia tour will be followed by a performance in Beijing on July 30. CCDC's tour to Brisbane and Darwin is supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney.
 
     Speaking at the post-performance reception at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre on June 14, the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Ms Winnie Chan, said "4Seasons" is a vivid demonstration of good collaboration in contemporary dance works between Hong Kong and Australia.

     "To consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international cultural metropolis and to create more opportunities for our artists, the Hong Kong Government has been progressively supporting Hong Kong's arts groups and artists to perform outside Hong Kong," she said.

     "The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, takes pride in supporting CCDC's tour to Brisbane and Darwin, to showcase the essence of Hong Kong arts and encourage our artistic talents to exchange experience with their counterparts in Australia. I am glad to see the production has facilitated intercultural dialogue between artists from different backgrounds.  

     "Hong Kong is Asia's world city and a thriving hub of arts and culture. Stretching across 40 hectares of harbourfront land, the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) will provide a vibrant cultural quarter for Hong Kong and is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. With a variety of performance spaces and museums, the WKCD will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and arts and cultural events," Ms Chan said.

     The WKCD's first major performing arts venue, the Xiqu Centre, dedicated to the promotion of Cantonese opera and other forms of Chinese traditional theatre, will open in late 2018. The Art Park will open in stages from 2018, while Freespace, situated at the centre of the Art Park, including a black box theatre and an outdoor stage, will open in 2019. The building works of M+, a new museum of visual culture, continue to move full steam ahead. The foundation works for the Lyric Theatre Complex have substantially been completed.

     "I welcome all to come to Hong Kong to explore the vast array of cultural events and I wish CCDC and EDC every success in their performances in Brisbane, Darwin and Beijing," Ms Chan said.

     For details of "4Seasons", please visit www.ccdc.com.hk/en/site/p/417.