This year, French May Arts Festival will continue to bring a variety of exciting programs covering arts, culture, and performances to local audiences. One of the highlights of this year must be the dance program “Christian Rizzo’s Blank Canvas” curated by the outstanding French choreographer Christian Rizzo. The program will take place in a free space, with Rizzo taking full creative control and presented in collaboration with Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
The program consists of three main parts: art installations, two dance films, and dance performances, bringing together various artistic elements and interactive experiences, including dance, sound, visuals, and objects. The following will be introduced one by one:
Dance performance
Through Rizzo’s observation of the Hong Kong landscape, he will collaborate with 5 Hong Kong dance artists, including Chan Wai Lok, Lee Wai Nang, Lee Ka Man, Wong Pik Ki, and Yeung Ho. Within the unique framework constructed by the choreographer, each performer will create a solo dance piece of approximately 10 minutes, performing in different corners of the free space. The performance aims to integrate the specific environment in which each artist resides, allowing the audience to reimagine the infinite possibilities of art through dance and space, and to reflect on their own relationship with the environment.
Date: June 3rd to 5th, 2022
Time: 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM
Viewing Location: West Kowloon Cultural District Free Space
Garment: “100% Polyester, Dancing Object n°57”
This installation is a collaborative creation by Caty Olive, composed of an invisible dance, a moment of contemplation, and a journey of imagination. A floor-mounted electric fan blows hanging clothes, and the dynamic changes caused by the wind make people reflect on the experience of non-existence and invisibility. The work has been exhibited in Paris, Berlin, New York, Seoul, Hanoi, and other places, receiving universal acclaim worldwide!
Date and Time: May 31 to June 2, 2022 (1 pm to 9 pm); June 3 to 4 (11 am to 9 pm); June 5 (11 am to 7 pm)
Viewing Location: West Kowloon Cultural District Free Space Fine Box
Dance Films: “TTT: Turbulence – Taipei – Tokyo” (2009-2011), “Bound” (2020)
Screening two fascinating and profound dance films in the same session. “TTT: Turquoise Taipei Tokyo” was co-produced by Rizzo and visual artist Jiang Yuanhao. This is a minimalist triptych that explores the relationship between body, movement, and space through motion capture and mixed reality techniques.
After choreographing a solo dance piece titled “Immersed” for breakdancer Nicolas Fayol in 2020, Rizzo invited visual artist Sophie Laly to create an extension of the dance piece called “Bound”. This film is centered around Fayol’s captivating performance and reimagines the original dance by combining rituals, dark forests, caves, and erupting volcanoes in both physical and metaphysical forms, creating a mysterious and alluring story.
Date and Time: May 31 to June 2, 2022 (1 pm to 9 pm); June 3 to 4 (11 am to 9 pm); June 5 (11 am to 7 pm)
Location: Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District
Online seminar
Rizzo will personally share highlights and challenges of his career, as well as his experiences collaborating with artists from different backgrounds over the years, to inspire art enthusiasts, art students, and those aspiring to enter the art world.
Date: From May 31, 2022
Viewing locations: West Kowloon Cultural District Video Platform, French May website, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels website
Parent-child creative dance workshop
Family audiences will have the opportunity to unleash their physical potential in a dance workshop. Parents and children will explore each other’s feelings through body movements, promoting closer connections and establishing new ways of communication. The workshop lasts about an hour, will be conducted in Cantonese, and requires advance registration.
Date: June 4th to 5th, 2022
Time: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Location: Freespace Terrace, West Kowloon Cultural District
This key dance project will integrate performing arts, visual arts, architecture, and venue, with rich elements such as dance, light and shadow, sound, and objects complementing each other, allowing the audience to enhance their senses and experience the infinite possibilities of dance performances!
Image source and learn more: French May Arts Festival
