Hong Kong | World Cultures Festival 2011 | Enchanting Arts of Asia

Organized by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the biennial World Cultures Festival has included Latin Passion, Mediterranean and Silk Road. This autumn, the focus is the varied and inspiring arts of Asia, aiming not only to offer a dynamic platform for representative artists and groups but also to showcase their multi-faceted traditions and perspectives. Highlighting two very different performing arts from Mainland China, Enchanting Arts of Asia opens with a richly diverse programme of ballet classics by the world-renowned National Ballet of China, and closes with the Red Mansion Troupe of the Shanghai Yueju Opera House – featuring a top-performing all-female cast – in a line-up of Yue Opera favourites. Another wonderful closing programme is presented by the multi-award winning dance master, Akram Khan, whose stellar creative team includes Hong Kong's Best Art Direction Oscar-winner Tim Yip. Indeed, audiences can enjoy an array of great shows throughout the Festival. There will be the opportunity to see Japan's premier solo Taiko drummer, Eitetsu Hayashi, in a resounding concert; Vietnam's Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe presenting a thousand-year-old art form; Chae Hyang Soon Dance Company of Korea delivering a spectacular cultural display; and Gong Tri Pitaka, the first gamelan troupe from North Bali to perform in Hong Kong, who will demonstrate the indigenous musical genre which has had such a tremendous effect on Western composers. In addition to tradition, the Festival will travel into new artistic realms through several spell-binding original works and innovative presentations. These performances will see the acclaimed Legend Lin Dance Theatre of Taiwan, led by Artistic Director Lin Lee-chen, making its long-awaited début in Hong Kong. In The Manganiyar Seduction, a brilliant work of music theatre from India, a mesmerising experience is set to unfold, with its juxtaposition of the spiritual sounds of Manganiyar music and an Amsterdam-style red-light district window display. Meanwhile, a group of renowned artists from Hong Kong and other locations in Asia collectively find the Festival a catalyst for creativity in Celestial Songs, a unique musical journey generating a pure Asian vision. Local performers will take to the stage with other stand-out productions. Wong Wing-sze, a star Hong Kong playwright, has been commissioned to create a black comedy. The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Hong Kong Dance Company will be making memorable appearances too. As part of this year's Festival, the major exhibition, Peace and Harmony - The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour: with 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts is jointly presented by the LCSD and the Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation. There will also be other eye-opening exhibitions, workshops, masterclasses, talks, school tours, free foyer and outdoor performances throughout the Festival as part of the endeavour to bring arts to every part of the community. Source: Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department