The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present the dance drama "Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting" by the China Oriental Performing Arts Group in January next year. Due to the overwhelming public response, tickets for the three previously available performances of the production were sold out swiftly. In lights of the views given to the LCSD, two final additional performances have been arranged and details are as follows:
 
Date and time: January 6, 2024 (Saturday), 2.30pm
　　　　　　　　January 7, 2024 (Sunday), 7.30pm
Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Prices: $200, $320, $420, $520 and $620
 
　　The "Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting" was produced by the Palace Museum, China Oriental Performing Arts Group and People's Daily Online, with Zhou Liya and Han Zhen as chief directors. It was inspired by "A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains", a classic painting housed at the Palace Museum, which was created by genius young painter Wang Ximeng during the Song dynasty and is the only extant work by Wang. The prestigious national performing arts group will unveil the 1 000-year-old elegance of Song-style aesthetics and celebrate the fine traditional culture of China with the art of contemporary performance. By adopting a narrative structure that interweaves space and time, the dance drama tells the story of a researcher from the Palace Museum to travel back in time to witness the moment when Wang was about to finish the work. The researcher guides the audience to accompany Wang through the precious time he spent painting the "A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains", providing them to establish the sentimental bond between the Chinese cultural relic and modern-day people.
 
　　Tickets for the additional performances will be available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk) from December 12 (Tuesday). Each person can purchase a maximum of two tickets each time on the first day of ticket sales and a maximum of four tickets each time from the second day onwards. For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/dance/programs_1642.html.
      
     A dance masterclass (in Putonghua) will be organised, in which lead dancers will introduce concept of the programme, teach dance movements and techniques, suitable for those aged 16 and above with some dance experience. It will be held at 2.30pm on January 4 (Thursday) at rehearsal room GR1, Grand Theatre Backstage, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at $180 will be available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk) from December 12 (Tuesday).

     Moreover, a pre-performance talk (in Cantonese) will be organised, in which Dr Raymond Tang, Curator of Hong Kong Heritage Museum, will introduce the painting "A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains". The talk entitled "The Past and Present of the Masterpiece: A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains" will be held at 3pm on December 17 (Sunday) at the Lecture Hall, Basement of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Admission is free by online registration, with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. For details of the dance masterclass and pre-performance talk, please visit the above-mentioned website.

     The LCSD has all along been committed to promoting Chinese history and culture through organising different types of activities. For more details of related activities, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/Chinese_History_Culture_Programmes_EN.pdf.

Ends/Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Issued at HKT 22:18

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