West Kowloon Cultural District Presents Inaugural “Freespace Dance 2023”

Month-long celebration of contemporary dance features six diverse programmes created by visionary local and international women choreographers

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (the Authority or WKCDA) proudly presents “Freespace Dance 2023” – the inaugural edition of a new annual dance festival in the West Kowloon Cultural District (the District or WKCD) showcasing local and international contemporary dance works to audiences. Running from 14 April to 7 May 2023 at Freespace in the District, the inaugural festival showcases six cutting-edge stage performances and works-in-development created by women choreographers from different generations and cultures. The works spotlight the inventiveness and versatility of contemporary choreography, offering fresh perspectives on gender and power relations and giving new insights into the creativity and imagination of dance and movement. Tickets for all the programmes at The Box will go on sale at Cityline starting from 1 Mar 2023 (Wednesday) at 10am.

Paul Tam, Executive Director, Performing Arts of WKCDA, said: “At WKCD we aspire to present dynamic, creative and inspirational performing arts programmes from local and international artists that encourage cultural dialogue and deepen the connections between artists and audiences. A different curatorial theme will be framed for each edition of ‘Freespace Dance’. The four-week inaugural edition of ‘Freespace Dance 2023’ celebrates the boundary-breaking work of women in dance, highlighting the creativity and imagination of these talented artists. A diverse range of fringe events will also be presented including pre-performance participatory physical introduction sessions for the first time, workshops, talks, post-show discussions, as well as various accessible service and experience, inviting the audiences to fully immerse themselves in the beauty and dynamism of contemporary dance and creating an engaging and memorable experience for local dance lovers.”

“Freespace Dance 2023” opens with the Asian premiere of Rykena/Jüngst – She Legend by Hamburg choreographer duo Lisa Rykena and Carolin Jüngst, a work that explores the queer potential of the comic superhero universe. Inspired by the powerful imagery and bizarre forms of expression found in comic books, this eclectic, whirling piece presents the performers as cyborg-like shape-shifters. Strolling through imaginary landscapes to apocalyptic sound effects, the non-conformist figures re-imagine heroic tales, invent superpowers and transform grotesque cartoon characters into physical choreographic translations on stage.

A major highlight of the festival is Mui Cheuk-yin – Double Happiness: The Promise of Red – a new work commissioned and produced by Freespace, choreographed and performed by internationally acclaimed dance artist Mui Cheuk-yin. This latest work by Mui, in collaboration with wedding chaperone Chan Kin-man, a young male practitioner in a profession traditionally dominated by women, and award-winning lyricist Chris Shum, combines dance, text and music in a profoundly thought-provoking performance that draws on a series of traditional Southern Chinese wedding rituals to unveil the thoughts and emotions of those fulfilling their duties, and in the process explores the meaning of honesty, promise and commitment.

Another festival highlight is Gisèle Vienne – Crowd, a slow-motion dance through the hedonistic ecstasy and darkness of a night-time teenage rave choreographed by French-Austrian choreographer Gisèle Vienne. With Crowd, Gisèle Vienne continues her exploration of desire and the balance of power that determine interactions within a group of individuals, while questioning the singularity of each individuality. The identity of Dennis Cooper's characters is as much outlined as it is erased, gradually dissolved by the crowd, whose slowness contrasts with its latent power. The electronic musical mix contributes to a hypnotic distortion of time, placing the spectator on the border between dream and rave trance. Gisèle Vienne – Crowd is co-presented by Freespace, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels and the French May Arts Festival. The production was staged at the Venice Biennale in 2018 and nominated at the 2020 Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.

Voetvolk / Lisbeth Gruwez and Maarten Van Cauwenberghe – It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend, a piece by Voetvolk / Lisbeth Gruwez and Maarten Van Cauwenberghe from Belgium, is a compelling exploration of the manipulative power of speech and gesture. Alone under a spotlight, and dressed in the androgenous uniform of authority, dancer/choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez casts a powerful spell over the audiences as she performs to a soundtrack mixed live by composer and sound designer Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, punctuated by fragments from a speech.

Inbal Pinto – Living Room, a captivating, whimsical piece about the unpredictability of our everyday lives, is the first full-length duet work composed by renowned Israeli choreographer during the pandemic lockdown. It will make its Asian premiere at Freespace Dance 2023. Isolated in a sparsely furnished room – decorated with murals created by Pinto herself – a lone dancer questions her body and surroundings. In surreal and dream-like turns, objects take on a life of their own and the dancer’s limbs are compelled by unseen forces, twisting in disjointed puppet-like ways as she tries to master her body and her environment. When another person appears in the room, the push and pull of curiosity, fear and desire sparks an intense duet and a new flight of imagination.

The festival also includes FIRST Creation Platform, a new informal space where choreographers can discuss, share and develop new ideas for potential dance work projects.

To aid accessibility and enhance audience experience, pre-performance participatory physical introduction sessions are introduced in “Freespace Dance 2023” for the first time, allowing the audiences to experience a short phrase of choreographic movement of the piece before the shows. Apart from various post-performance discussions, talks and workshops, WKCDA will co-present a Dance Appreciation and Criticism Writing Workshop with the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) to nurture young dance critics (in Cantonese only). To connect audiences with different needs, a variety of accessibility experiences will be offered for selected events. Further details will be available at the event webpage.

For the latest programming information and ticketing arrangements, please visit https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/freespacedance2023.

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.

About Freespace
Freespace is Hong Kong’s new centre for contemporary performance. Located in the heart of the Art Park, Freespace presents multi-genre performances and events, produces boundary-pushing collaborations, and promotes new ways of seeing and experiencing performance. Freespace houses The Box, a flexible space for cutting-edge performances and one of the largest black box theatres in Hong Kong, two multi-purpose spaces, The Room and The Studio, designed for creative exchange and artistic collaborations, and Lau Bak Livehouse, an intimate bar cafe presenting live music from Hong Kong and around the world.

Appendix: Programme details of Freespace Dance 2023

Ticketing details

• 10%, 15% and 20% discounts will be for any single-transaction purchases of standard tickets for two, three and four Freespace Dance 2023 programmes held at The Box, Freespace respectively.
• 30% discount on any single-transaction purchases of standard tickets for all five Freespace Dance 2023 programmes held at The Box, Freespace. Holders of tickets marked with this discount can redeem five Lau Bak Livehouse drink vouchers for free. Redemption is available at the event reception desk from 7:30pm on 14 or 15 April 2023, the night of the inaugural programme She Legend.

1. Rykena/Jüngst – She Legend
The Asian premiere Rykena/Jüngst – She Legend, is a work by Hamburg choreographer duo Lisa Rykena and Carolin Jüngst, a work that explores the queer potential of the comic superhero universe.

A ticketed dance workshop is available on 12 April 2023 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, persons with intermediate experience in dance or above are welcome, details to be announced.

A sharing session on audio description in dance is open to public on 15 April 2023 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. A participatory physical introduction session is open to ticket holders on the same day from 7:00pm to 7:30pm. Cantonese audio description for performance and pre-show touch tours (with Cantonese audio description) are also available for ticket holders, priority is given to ticket holders with visual impairments. The above experiences are free.

Seats on a first come, first served basis, please refer to WKCD’s website for more registration details.

2. Mui Cheuk-yin – Double Happiness: The Promise of Red
Double Happiness: The Promise of Red – the latest work by celebrated local choreographer Mui Cheuk-yin – draws on a series of traditional wedding rituals to unveil the thoughts and emotions of those fulfilling their formal duties, and in the process explores the meaning of honesty, promise and contractual commitment.

A participatory physical introduction session is open to ticket holders on 22 April 2023 from 7:00pm to 7:30pm for free on a first come, first served basis. Please refer to WKCD’s website for more registration details.

3. Voetvolk / Lisbeth Gruwez and Maarten Van Cauwenberghe – It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend
The piece It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend by Voetvolk / Lisbeth Gruwez and Maarten Van Cauwenberghe from Belgium is a compelling exploration of the manipulative power of speech and gesture.

A ticketed dance workshop is available on 24 April 2023 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Professional dancers are welcome, details to be announced.

A participatory physical introduction session is open to ticket holders on 26 April 2023 from 7:00pm to 7:30pm for free.

Seats are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please refer to WKCD’s website for more registration details.

4. Inbal Pinto – Living Room
Asian premiere Living Room, the first full-length duet work conceived during lockdown by renowned Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto, explores the unpredictable nature of our everyday reality.

A participatory physical introduction session is open to ticket holders on 30 April 2023 from 2:00pm to 2:30pm for ticket holders for free on a first come, first served basis. Please refer to WKCD’s website for more registration details.

5. Gisèle Vienne – Crowd
French-Austrian choreographer Gisèle Vienne choreographed a slow-motion dance through the hedonistic ecstasy and darkness of a night-time teenage rave.

A participatory physical introduction session is open to ticket holders on 6 May 2023 from 7:00pm to 7:30pm for ticket holders for free on a first come, first served basis. Please refer to WKCD’s website for more registration details.

6. FIRST Creation Platform
FIRST is an interactive artistic platform designed to encourage independent choreographers to share new work-in-progress and practice-in-development ideas.