(Hong Kong, 26^th March 2024) Stepping into the 45^th bountiful year, City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) announces this season’s theme: ‘An Ardent °Fall’ – a dance scenery of autumnal cultivation and harvest. To celebrate CCDC’s anniversary, two outdoor performances, four stage productions, and a series of overseas events – all revolving around fall, will be launched. The line-up is akin to extracting nutrients from the harvests in the past 45 years, irrigating the dance company’s future creations and productions, while spreading contemporary dance art like seeds to an ever-wider audience base. Advance booking of CCDC Dance Season 2024/25 is now available on CCDC website and art-mate till 9^th May 2024 with discounts of up to 25% and a one-year free membership.

Four Stage Performances – Harvest the Past, Sow for the Future

Dance Season ‘An Ardent °Fall’ will be kicked off by Ode to Joy Evolving in May. Choreographer Justyne Li has reshaped her short work Ode to Joy created several years ago with her distinctive contemporary vocabulary, dividing her body into two extreme mental states. Against the backdrop of a warm autumn, Justyne Li captivates the audience through dance as she navigates a programmed realm in another dimension of time and space. The work looks into the inextricable connections between human autonomy and the ever-evolving technology.

Showing in July is As If Snowing by Artist in Residence Qiao Yang, which is the fruit of her autobiographic solo dance Almost 55, after five years of nurturing. The new work is tailor-made for Yang by resident choreographer Sang Jijia. The two will join forces with guest dancers Luo Fan and Kelvin Mak, along with the creative team, including dramaturg Janice Poon, costume designer Taurus Wah, and video designer Adrian Yeung. Amid a vast rice field, they behold the reaping with the audience, while listening to the nuances of snowfall.

August is a month for children. CCDC has once again prepared a Dance Theatre in Education for Families and All production – International Art Carnival 2024: Sliding into Heart. The household name ‘Siu Ming’ is transformed into the protagonist, leading the audience to slide into a mysterious territory for an ‘extra-ordinary’ adventure. Choreographers Shirley Lok and Peggy Lam will lead CCDC Dance Artists and 5 to 12 years old young dancers onto the stage and embark on an exciting journey for children and grown-ups alike.

The grand finale of the season is Certain Movements and Shadows, co-created by renowned choreographer Helen Lai and new-generation dance artist Chou Shu-yi. Taking inspiration from Bei Dao’s verses, the contemporary dance work discovers the relationship between poetry and the body, uncovering hidden literary rhythms on stage through various dance movements. Chou Shu-yi will team up with CCDC Dance Artists as a dazzling ensemble to honour the 45 glorious years of the Company and to usher in prolific harvests for years to come.

Two Commemorative Productions Igniting a 45°C Ardent Celebration

At the 45^th dance season, CCDC upholds the belief that ‘dance is always by your side’ and keeps bringing productions across the city. Two distinctive outdoor programmes will set the tone for the celebration. Debuted a year ago, Multidisciplinary Dance Theatre Meeting In-between Time (Re-run) was staged in the revitalised The Pokfulam Farm, impressing the audience with breakthroughs in aesthetics and performance format. This year, the work returns as a celebratory programme refined thoroughly by choreographer Sang Jijia, CCDC Dance Artists, and the design team to be presented at the very same spot. The audience will be able to immerse themselves in the environment and delight in a poetic dance work outdoors.

The WuDaoQingNian training and performance programme has been nurturing numerous talents for the dance field. This year, 45 former participants will unite again to showcase new dance work New Dance on the Block in different corners of the community. Led by Associate Artistic Director Dominic Wong and Outreach Manager Ronly Kong, the troupe will sway through the past and respond to the present. At the plentiful harvests this fall, we welcome all Hong Kong citizens to plunge into the world of dance and move with the members of WuDaoQingNian!

A Series of Overseas Programmes to Share the Company’s Autumnal Fruit with More Regions 

With the exchanges among regions fully restored last year, this year, CCDC will present contemporary dance pieces in several Mainland cities. Choreographed and directed by Artistic Director Yuri Ng, Home Sweat Home will tour in multiple mainland cities, including Shenzhen, Beijing, and Huizhou in May and June. The work is a collaboration with CCDC Dance Artists, guest performers, and a live music ensemble, showcasing original songs, dialogue, and contemporary dance. In the form of an operetta, the work illustrates Hong Kong and articulates the sentiment of ‘home is where the heart is’.

‘Jumping Frames—Hong Kong International Movement-image Festival’ will make a vibrant presence among film festivals in different cities, bringing CCDC’s commissioned works to a broader scope of audience, spanning Amsterdam, Seoul, Tokyo, and Tainan, to explore the artistic creation and development of dance and video. Last year, ‘HOTPOT East Asia Dance Platform’ was staged in City Contemporary Dance Festival. This coming December, Yokohama Dance Collection will take over the hosting role. Dance elites from China, Japan, and South Korea will gather in Yokohama to showcase styles from various regions and explore more possibilities to foster the development of contemporary dance.

CCDC’s dance season is themed on autumn, while refining dance into numbers. At the high temperature of 45°C, let’s celebrate the fruitful harvest. The cold arrives, the heat departs; reap in autumn, stockpile in winter. Celebration goes beyond today’s harvest in anticipation for tomorrow.

Advance Booking Details

Dance Season 2024-25 Timetable