Latest news with #TheButterflyLovers
The Star
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Hong Kong Ballet to debut The Butterfly Lovers in NYC
HONG KONG: This August, in a breathtaking fusion of East and West, the Hong Kong Ballet premieres its award-winning The Butterfly Lovers in New York. This ballet redefines classical storytelling with innovative choreography, all brought to life by the live accompaniment of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Originating from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD), The Butterfly Lovers has been around for over 1,700 years. It is recognised as one of China's four great folktales and is often referred to as the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. Zhu Yingtai, a young woman from a wealthy family, disguises herself as a man so she can attend school, where she meets Liang Shanbo, a fellow student from a humble background. Zhu falls in love with Liang over time. During a visit, Liang discovers Zhu's true identity. He hopes to propose to her, but her parents have already arranged for her to marry a wealthy man. Liang eventually dies from grief. On Zhu's wedding day, her bridal procession passes Liang's grave, and a storm stops them from passing. Zhu runs to the grave, and it miraculously opens. She jumps in, and moments later, two butterflies rise from the grave together, representing a symbol of their eternal love. The ballet show made its debut in Hong Kong on Oct 18, 2024, and received several major awards at the 26th Hong Kong Dance Awards 2025, including Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer (Xuan Cheng as Zhu Yingtai), Outstanding Music Composition, and Outstanding Ensemble Performance. The performance was envisioned by Hong Kong Ballet artistic director Septime Webre, a Cuban-American who previously worked with The Washington Ballet. Webre said he wanted to serve the audience with tailored content that reflects the ballet company's roots. Webre said that The Butterfly Lovers sparked his interest as it explores a remarkably progressive theme — a woman seeking education in a time when it was forbidden for females. Webre described it as "a compelling contemporary theme in many parts of the world", which deeply resonated with him. He stated that the elements of modernity and themes of gender and class are still important today. Lead choreographers and writers, the couple duo Songwei Hu and Jingwen Mai, said the piece not only highlights the great love story at its core, but also weaves in themes such as the oppression of the old feudal system and patriarchal society. This ballet blends contemporary and traditional styles in a unique and expressive way. Drawing from their deep experience in Chinese classical dance, choreographers Hu and Mai said they brought in traditional movement elements to challenge and contrast with the upright, structured posture of ballet. "We incorporated more Chinese dance into the upper body," Mai explained. The dance and story were backed by Academy Award winner Tim Yip, who designed both the costumes and the stage. He is known for his art directing work on Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon. For this performance, Yip designed 12 moving screen panels. He said those 12 screens help to slow down certain elements of ballet, pushing them into a more ethereal, virtual state. Yip said he wanted to emphasise the idea of "fluidity". He said that unlike Western art, Chinese art emphasises atmosphere and poetic resonance. Instead of laying everything out, it sets a mood that pulls the audience into the feel and flow of the Chinese aesthetic and way of thinking. In partnership with China Arts and Entertainment Group and the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York, the Hong Kong Ballet will present The Butterfly Lovers for the first time from Aug 22 to 24 at Lincoln Center in New York. "As a Chinese myself, it brings me great joy to share our unique perspective on love. I hope audiences in New York can see that China, too, has its own version of Romeo and Juliet, and feel how Zhu Yingtai, even in that era, was willing to defy her family and fight for love and freedom," Hu said. For his next "ambitious" project, Webre said he has spent years researching and making. It will be a ballet based on the life of Hong Kong's legendary martial artist Bruce Lee. Mixing kung fu and ballet, Webre hopes the performance will premiere in 2027. - China Daily/ANN
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Titanic-like sweep of Hong Kong Dance Awards and a sinking feeling about dance's standing
You don't often hear a Hong Kong dance production compared to a blockbuster film's success on Oscars night, but that was how the Hong Kong Dance Alliance described a near clean sweep of its annual awards by Hong Kong Ballet's The Butterfly Lovers. 'This is astonishing – it feels like Oscars night in the year of Titanic,' said the awards' co-chairman, and Post dance critic, Natasha Rogai At the awards ceremony, held at the Fringe Club in Central district on May 19, The Butterfly Lovers won a record six awards: for best large venue production, best choreography, best set and costume design – won by Tim Yip , who earned an Oscar in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – best music for Tian Mi's score, best female performance for Xuan Cheng, and best ensemble performance. Of the other honours presented on the night, the two that eluded The Butterfly Lovers were the award for best male performance, which went to Luo Fan for his role in CCDC's As If Snowing, and the award for best lighting, won by Yeung Tsz-yan for Hong Kong Dance Company's The Legend of Lanling. Recipients of prizes in the 26th Hong Kong Dance Awards and other members of the dance community at the awards presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Fringe Club. Photo: Hong Kong Dance Alliance The award for best medium (sic) venue production went to City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) for Living Up to Death, while the award for best small venue production was shared between Tai Kwun's Memory Trace of Western Chamber and Common Ground's Imagined Altar. The Butterfly Lovers, which is based on a traditional Chinese folk tale of the same name, premiered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre on October 18, 2024. It will soon tour to the United States: Hong Kong Ballet will perform it at New York's David H. Koch Theatre between August 22 and 24.
