It's on for young and old
Spend the summer caught in a whirlwind of art festivals, plays and film. Vanessa Yung lists the season's must-sees
THE CAVALCADE OF art fairs, auctions and exhibition openings last month might have come and gone in a blink but the cultural buzz in the city will continue deep into summer, with two major performing arts festivals – one catering to children and the other for an older set.
The International Arts Carnival (IAC), organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, returns in July with 16 productions and more than 100 performances and screenings. The Diavolo Dance Theatre from Los Angeles will open the festival with Architecture in Motion (July 5-7), a gymnastics and acrobatics show that pits performers against giant mechanisms such as rocking galleons and rolling wheels.
Other highlights of this month-long cultural jamboree for children include Shadowland (July 26-28), a light and shadow show staged by Pilobolus Dance Theatre from the United States and Da Capo! Quasi Concert, inspired by commedia dell’arte (Italian for “comedy of art”), staged by The Konk Brothers from Italy and Norway.
Canto-pop singer Eman Lam Yee-man is set to appear in the Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s McDull: Sentimental Little Stories concert (July 20-21), which will follow an adorably clumsy piglet created by Alice Mak Ka-bik and Brian Tse Lap-man. It features classical music by Brahms, Dvorák, Elgar and Grieg. But before that, the Sinfonietta, under the baton of Ken Lam, will perform the Disney classic Fantasia (June 7-9).
Elmo will take centre stage in Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Super Heroes (June 28- July 1) a touring musical that has been delighting families in America since 2010.