City Contemporary Dance Company
Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Apr 22-23, 8pm, Apr 23-24, 3pm
Dancer-choreographer Noel Pong Chi-kwan kicks off the City Contemporary Dance Company's (CCDC) new season with her first full-length show about the emotional tide experienced by an audience watching a movie.
'My inspiration comes from an album featuring a violinist playing movie themes,' says Pong. 'One of the works, Smile, from Charlie Chaplin's comedy Modern Times, evokes in my mind the image of a girl watching a movie at the cinema, and so I start from there and infuse the choreography with different pictures that come to mind while I listen to the other works.'
A modern dance graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Pong joined the CCDC in 1997. Her major works include Rainy Days and Mondays..., Crime Scene and, most recently, Fairy Tales - To Be Continued.
Unlike the double bills Pong has worked on in the past, in which she has shared the stage with a fellow choreographer, Off Screen gives her control of the entire stage.
'I can utilise the stage according to my expectations alone, hence the whole show can be a lot more coherent and independent,' she says.