Season Programme

Mr Blank 2.0

Technology and big data play an indispensable role in modern life. The lines between seeing and being seen, between taking the lead and being led have long been blurred. In this world where ‘you watch me, I watch you’, everyone is both an observer and an observee. In an enclosed chamber lives many Mr Blanks, just like you, me, him and her, pondering and seeking in a confined space. The shattered manuscripts on the table tell someone’s stories and bear your traces.

Mr Blank is a dance work inspired by a novel. Since its debut in 2018, it has evolved through global turmoil, presenting audiences with various interpretations. This year, the work returns to the stage under the direction of CCDC’s new Artistic Director, Sang Jijia, featuring a new ensemble of dancers. They have reinterpreted the existing text with vigorous movements, exploring possibilities of the present to unveil the new dance season by redefining the disorientation and awakening of humanity in the digital age.

Choreography: Sang Jijia
Dramaturgy: Janice POON^
Original Music: Dickson Dee
Video Direction: Oliver SHING
Scenography: Leo CHEUNG
Set and Lighting Design: Lawmanray
Costume Design: Cindy HO^
Sound Design: Anthony YEUNG
Performance: AN Tzu-huan, CHEN Dai-wen, CHEN Jia-wen, Suyi HON, JIANG Xu-ling, Eric KWONG, LEE Ka-ki*, LI De*, Stephanie LI, Natalie MAK*, QIAO Yang, SHUM Pui-yung, Skye YAO, YANG Yu, ZHANG Xi-long*

*Guest Performer
^By kind permission of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Rehearsal Photos

Photos by Ray CHEUNG

Pre-performance Sharing Session & Post-performance meet-the-artist session
Explaining the Password of “Mr Blank” for you

Pre-performance Sharing Session | 3 April  6:00pm

𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝟮.𝟬: 𝗨𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄

When a dancer’s body becomes a narrative brushstroke, costume design becomes the flowing ink that shades its intensity. Since the premiere of Mr. Blank, new and original dancers have come together onstage for Mr Blank 2.0. Costume designer Cindy Ho has not simply “reused” designs from the work’s first staging seven years ago. Instead, she has reinterpreted and tailored each costume to suit the individual dancer’s body and movement style. From the curvature of the fabric, and the tension of the seams, to the hidden rhythms in buttons and folds, every detail extends the dancer’s physical language. Here, costume is no longer merely a visual symbol; it becomes a tangible embodiment of body and intent, forming an essential part of the production’s integrity.

In the upcoming pre-show event, Cindy will unravel the design stories behind the collective imagery of Mr Blank 2.0. She will share how she crafted unique looks for each of the fifteen “Mr. Blanks” onstage and explain how costume aesthetics can heighten the dramatic tension of a performance.

Through the visual guidance of costume, audiences are invited to notice fleeting moments in the multifaceted crowd: a flickering corner of a garment, a taut line of stitching—these designs act as a microscope, revealing the hidden textures and nuances of each of the fifteen concealed Mr. Blanks.

Registration: https://forms.gle/1HntF5UNpWfH1dAm9

Post-performance meet-the-artist session | 3 April

Mr Blank 2.0 reconstructs dance narrative through the language of dynamic cinematography—from close-up shots that capture the subtlest expressions and movements of the dancers to the creation of spatial metaphors and layered storytelling. In the real-time interplay between video imagery and live performance, new meanings emerge that transcend traditional visual frameworks. In this post-performance artist talk, Sang Jijia and Oliver Shing will delve into the evolution of the work from its 2018 premiere to the present staging, reflecting on the complex and daring creative journey of developing a physical and cinematic vocabulary. They will explore how the interpenetration of physical space and digital projection constructs new, multi-dimensional perspectives in contemporary performing arts.

2-3.5.2025 (Fri-Sat) 8pm
4.5.2025 (Sun) 3pm
$360, $280, $200
(Concessionary Discounts - student/senior citizen/disabled/Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA))
Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre