Experimental Dance Theatre – “Living Up/噏 to Death” Blending Dance, Text, Electronic Music, Installations and Videos to Navigate the Notions of Separation Shows up to the Weekend Learn to say goodbye

(Hong Kong, 15 January 2024) City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) concludes its ‘It’s Summer!’ dance season with the premiere of Living Up/ to Death last week. Led by interdisciplinary theatre director/ choreographer Ivanhoe Lam, the experimental dance theatre piece devised by a diverse and talented creative team delves into profound themes of life and death. The programme is now running up to 21 Jan 2024 (Sun) at The Box, Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District, with tickets available at CCDC website and URBTIX.

 

Living in the Moment: Experiencing Rebirth in the Theatre

Living Up/ to Death, choreographed and directed by Ivanhoe Lam, endeavors to bridge the realms of dance and life through the creative team’s collaboration with the ‘Silent Teachers’ Body Donation Program, alongside archive research. Central to the conception of the work, Lam suggests “Leaving is merely another beginning”. In view of the universal yet personal finality of life, he emphasizes the significance of how the living honor and continue the legacies of their predecessors. Despite its partial title reference to ‘death’, Lam aspires for the audience to experience from the experimental theatre a transformed perspective on separation and existence, encouraging viewers to seek new meanings and answers within the concept of ‘living’.

The 90-minute performance blends dance, installations, text, live videos and electronic music into an immersive experience for the audience. The multidisciplinary production features Dance Artists not only performing contemporary dances, but also presenting a series of spectacular and unconventional performances, weaving multiple narratives within the same space. Lam notes, “Everyone has different experiences and ways of dealing with and facing life, which represents a contemporary view of all beings.”

In redefining the viewing experience, the creative team has turned the theatre space into a ‘laboratory’. Each audience member becomes a ‘laboratory technician’, free to observe and wander through different areas, and to select their viewing distance based on personal psychological comfort or preference, thus engaging in a thought experiment. Inside The Box, both the body and the mind are granted infinite possibilities. The audience is invited to envision their future life journey,  experiencing a sense of rebirth akin to emerging from a cocoon. Living Up/噏 to Death is crafted to create unique stories for each individual, underscoring the power of life.

 

Revolutionary Front and Back Stage Ensemble in the Meticulously Designed The Big Box Space

Following Living up to Her in 2020, Ivanhoe Lam furthers the ‘Living Up’ theme with new theatrical directions. In this latest creative work, he reunites with playwright Santayana Li and teams up with esteemed talents. Among them are Golden Melody Award winner hirsk for original music, acclaimed Stylist Kary Kwok for image design, set designer Jan Wong, video designer Dan Fong and director of cinematography Ziv Chun. The creative team reimagined The Box performance space and designed an unorthodox laboratory through installations and design, engaging in real-time interaction and exchange with the audience.

In a historic first for its 44-year history, CCDC has assembled an exceptional performance team, uniting its Artistic Director, Artist in Residence, Company Dramaturg and all Dance Artists. This striking ensemble exemplifies the allure of contemporary dance, embodying the transformative nature of life through their dynamic dance vernacular and unique physicality. The lineup is unparalleled: Artistic Director Yuri Ng and Company Dramaturg Melissa Leung, returning after many years, join forces with Artist in Residence Qiao Yang, a dedicated full-time dancer with the company for over 27 years, along with a range of veteran and young dancers. The diverse, intergenerational cast is set to deliver unexpected delights and awe-inspiring moments for the audience in the theatre.

 

Performance Details

Date & Time 15, 18-20.1.2024 (Mon, Thu-Sat) 8pm
20-21.1.2024 (Sat-Sun) 3pm
Venue The Box, Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District
Ticketing $320
Details https://qrs.ly/88ffvtb
Book Now CCDC website: https://qrs.ly/3zffvtq

URBTIX: https://qrs.ly/w7ffvu1

Media Resources https://qrs.ly/mzffvux

 

About the Main Creative Team

Choreography and Direction: Ivanhoe LAM

Music: hirsk (aka Khris NUNG)

Creative Text: Santayana LI

Dramaturgy: Alysa LEUNG

Video Design: Dan FONG^

Cinematography: Ziv CHUN

Set Design: Jan WONG

Image Design: Kary KWOK

Sound Design: Candog HA

Lighting Design: Lawmanway

Assistant Choreography: LIM Wei-wei

Rehearsal Mistress: Shirley LOK

Creation and Performance: Suyi HON, Felix KE, Eric KWONG,  Melissa LEUNG, Genie LOK*, Yuri NG, QIAO Yang, SHUM Pui-yung, Ninia WANG, Brian YAM, Skye YAO, Simpson YAU, Tally ZHUANG

 

* The ‘Dance Artistic Internship Scheme’ is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council

^ With support and kind permission of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

About the Main Creative Team

Choreographer & Direction:

Ivanhoe LAM

Ivanhoe Chun-ho Lam, a choreographer and multi-disciplinary theatre-maker. He received a diploma in Drama and Dance (Contemporary Dance) from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Choreography from Codarts Rotterdam. In 2015, he took part in a three-month artist residency at the Zurich University of the Arts. His recent own productions include Report ii – the illegal i by New Vision Arts Festival (2021), Living up to HER by Jockey Club New Arts Power (2019), Report i – Which I am I by Jockey Club New Arts Power (2018) and Pretext Quartet by New Vision Festival (2016). EvenOdd by Hong Kong Arts Festival (2014).

His work spans stage direction, choreography and movement design. He collaborated with Freespace x HKRep, New Vision Festival 2023, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Passoverdance, Lautten Compagney Berlin x SingFest, Cartier x K11 MUSEA, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Leon Ko x Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Chan Fai-young x Women’s Choir, Edward Lam Dance Theatre, Yat Po Singers, Prudence Liew etc. His works have toured Berlin, Erfurt, Shanghai, Dusseldorf, Zurich, Guangzhou, Beijing, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Music:

hirsk (aka Khris NUNG)

hirsk is a Hong Kong-born producer-artist obsessed with sonic explorations, and an alumnus of Berklee College of Music. An artist who defies conventions, hirsk seamlessly melds the sampling of Hong Kong’s “soundscape” with his abstract post-genre style, creating a unique sound that resonates deeply with listeners in Hong Kong and beyond. He has been invited to perform at festivals including Pop Kultur Berlin, Munich’s Frameworks Festival, and Shanghai’s Strawberry Music Festival, telling stories about culture through sounds. His ground-breaking debut album noista/gia secured him the coveted honor of ‘Best Instrumental Album Producer’ at the 32nd Golden Melody Awards (GMA) in Taiwan. Two years later, he was recruited into the judging panel for the 34th GMA. He currently continues to oscillate between “commercial-oriented” and “art-oriented” projects, seeking to break creative boundaries.

Creative Text:

Santayana LI

Santayana Li, Hong Kong actress and playwright. In 2018, Li collaborated with Theatre du poulet to tour The Extinction of Hong Kongers throughout east Canada, which has received the ‘Emerging Artist Award’ from SummerWorks Performance Festival 2018 in Toronto. Li’s first written play, Journey to Home, was chosen and premiered in the 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival and credited as “the most memorable local original script 2012” by South China Morning Post. Li’s recently written play A+a, a TV series about adult autism, produced by Radio Television Hong Kong. Report i: Which I am I, directed by Ivanhoe Lam, premiered in a cultural heritage centre Tai Kwun. Living up to HER in “Threading through time” was produced by New Arts Power x The Mills. In November 2020, The void was produced by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. Report ii: the illegal i was produced by New Vision Arts Festival 2021, directed by Ivanhoe Lam. In recent years, Li was invited as an Assistant Director in On & On Theatre workshop Tit Hong Lane and Co-Director in King Yeung Wu’s new play Hongkongshima.

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About City Contemporary Dance Company

City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC), the flagship of contemporary dance in Hong Kong, undertakes to blaze the path of contemporary dance scene with extraordinary performances representing contemporary Hong Kong culture. Founded in 1979 and directed by Yuri Ng since 2021, CCDC has presented more than 200 original works by leading choreographers, and pioneered in Asia to reimagine the possibilities of contemporary dance through innovative collaborations. Representing Hong Kong in over 270 overseas performances at the world’s foremost dance stages and festivals, CCDC is regarded as ‘the artistic soul of contemporary Hong Kong’.

City Contemporary Dance Company is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

 

Media Enquiry

Stephanie Mak

Senior Marketing and Development Manager

Tel: 3170 9924 / 9430 2263

Fax: 2351 4199

Email: stephanie@ccdc.com.hk

Kathy Lin

Marketing and Development Coordinator

Tel: 3170 9922/ 6670 0498

Fax: 2351 4199

Email: kathy@ccdc.com.hk