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Club supports 45th Hong Kong Arts Festival in bringing world-class performances to Hong Kong

10/05/2016

Details were announced today (5 October) of the 2017 Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) to be held next February and March, including a number of performances and art-related events funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. To mark the 45th staging of the HKAF, the Club is additionally funding The Super Pool, a special programme co-presented with the HKAF that allows people to dance in harmony with lights.

The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making – Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan attended today’s press conference with Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha, Executive Director Tisa Ho and Programme Director Grace Lang.

The Super Pool, which has been demonstrated at more than 30 major arts festivals around the world, will be one of the highlights of HKAF 2017. This amazing computerised installation, designed by renowned new media artist Jen Lewin, fuses visual art, technology and human interaction. Using energy-saving LED lights and environmentally-friendly materials, Lewin has created a dance floor with light pad that can allow more than 100 people to participate at a time. It will be set up throughout the Festival in different spaces, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, to allow as many people as possible to enjoy its dazzling experience.

Among the Festival’s stage presentations, the now well-established Hong Kong Jockey Club Series will comprise the opening show, La Bayadère, performed by Germany’s Bayerisches Staatsballett; an exclusive Asian premiere, The Makropulos Case, performed by National Theatre Brno from the Czech Republic; and Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic from Norway.

Also solely sponsored by the Club’s Charities Trust will be Hong Kong Odyssey, a specially-commissioned performance in the Jockey Club Local Creative Talents Series that will illustrate the historical development of Hong Kong and its culture over the past 100 years through poetry, music and song. Related outreach activities, including workshops and talks, are expected to attract 5,600 people.

Another programme solely sponsored by the Trust, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series, promotes local talent by featuring local young dancers and choreographers and their innovative dance works. Under this series for 2017 will be Dance off, Will you still love me tomorrow? Hong Kong Remix and Cecilia’s Rhapsody. As part of this programme, the Trust supports educational and outreach activities that allow students to learn more about contemporary dance.

To encourage local students to enjoy and appreciate the arts, the Trust is also funding two complimentary presentations under The Hong Kong Jockey Club Student Matinee Programme. About 3,200 students will be able to enjoy free special performances of Kosmos and O Balcão de Amor by Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from Canada on 3 and 4 March. To enhance their appreciation of the programmes students will also learn about ballet technique and theatre etiquette. As in previous years, the Trust will fund a transport subsidy scheme to help students who live in remote districts enjoy these programmes.

More details of all these events are available at www.hk.artsfestival.org.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to community betterment. Through its integrated business model of world-class racing, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution, the Club generates substantial economic and social value and assists the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2015/16 the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer and one of the world’s largest charity donors. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.

The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (6th left), Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (5th left), Executive Director Tisa Ho (3rd left), Programme Director Grace Lang (2nd right) and other guests.
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (6th left), Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (5th left), Executive Director Tisa Ho (3rd left), Programme Director Grace Lang (2nd right) and other guests.

The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (left) with Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (centre) and Executive Director Tisa Ho (right).
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (left) with Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (centre) and Executive Director Tisa Ho (right).

The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (5th right); Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (2nd right); Executive Director Tisa Ho (1st left); Music Director of the Jockey Club Local Creative Talents Series: Hong Kong Odyssey, Chan Hing-yan (3rd right); and the showa£á?s main cast and composers.
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (5th right); Hong Kong Arts Festival Chairman Victor Cha (2nd right); Executive Director Tisa Ho (1st left); Music Director of the Jockey Club Local Creative Talents Series: Hong Kong Odyssey, Chan Hing-yan (3rd right); and the showa£á?s main cast and composers.

The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (4th right) and local young dancers of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series.
The Club's Head of Charities (Grant Making a£á¡§ Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture) Rhoda Chan (4th right) and local young dancers of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series.

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