Beacon Hill dances out the story of man
PAST and present students of Beacon Hill School 're-unite' to present a dance drama offering as part of the Hong Kong Youth Art Festival.
The show, with original music and choreography, is an exhilarating and thought-provoking production that combines dance, music and narration on a topic relevant to us all - planet Earth.
Inspired by Eric Maddern's books Earth Story and Life Story, the dance drama traces a journey of millions and millions of years.
It follows the history of our own planet Earth from its first moments as a swirling mass of gases in a newly formed galaxy through a period of evolution and change where Earth became home to all manner of life forms, from microscopic sea creatures to enormous dinosaurs.
The final chapter is about us - the evolution of that extraordinary mammal, the human being.
The production imaginatively explores and describes significant events through movement, be it light banishing darkness or the mass death of the dinosaurs.
The dance is choreographed by the children themselves, under the guidance of Elizabeth Woodhouse.
The music, specially composed by Scott Gibson, reflects various emotions in different styles, from baroque chamber music to jazz and rock, using musical motifs that recur and develop as the story unfolds.
A CD of the music, with narration by some of the pupils, is available at Beacon Hill School.
The performance will be held at City Hall on November 24 at 7.30 pm and November 25 at 10 am.
