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Moving the masses a step in the dance-theatre direction

In an atrium in Tsim Sha Tsui's Harbour City mall, under a stained-glass skylight, a man in a ragged grey jacket and pinstriped trousers slowly lifts a black bowler off his head. As mournful violin music fills the space, he pirouettes, kicks and dissolves into a heap on the floor. Lunchtime shoppers who have gathered on the three floors surrounding the atrium stand riveted.

This free entertainment, courtesy of the City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC), is part of the Hong Kong institution's attempt to create some buzz on the cusp of its 25th anniversary. To attract conservative Hong Kong audiences to its modern dance programme, the CCDC has tweaked its offerings and revamped its Kowloon headquarters, adding a cafe and a big studio where passers-by can drop in to watch rehearsals.

'It's hard when you ask people to buy tickets to something they don't know,' says Pun Siu-fai, director of the CCDC's Dance Centre. 'Public displays draw the public's attention. We don't have the money to do a lot of advertising, but we can go out and appeal to them.'

According to the CCDC's annual report, box office receipts made up a paltry 1.6 per cent of last year's $21 million income, the majority of which came from government funding, dance-class fees and corporate engagements.

The CCDC's efforts are part of a broader movement by Hong Kong dance outfits to raise their profiles. The Hong Kong Ballet, also celebrating its 25th anniversary, has just extended the contract of its artistic director, Stephen Jefferies, added a new signature ballet to its repertoire and is touring overseas. In September, the Academy for Performing Arts will launch a Gifted Young Dancer Programme to train teenagers and young adults for full-time dance careers.

The Harbour City performance by dancer Xing Liang is a segment from Comedy of K, a dance-theatre piece about the collision of fantasy and reality that exemplifies the CCDC's upping of the creative ante. The production, inspired by the writings and life of Franz Kafka, will kick off the company's 25th season next month. 'I'm trying to introduce new forms,' says Helen Lai, the CCDC's resident choreographer. Among elements designed to increase its popular appeal, Comedy of K incorporates video clips by French video artist Jean-Sebastien Lallemand that show 'fragmented dream images', Lai says. As well, local comedian and actor Jim Chim will play various characters. In one scene, he'll read from newspapers, then develop the news into a short comic sketch.

For the production's first 10 minutes, there may be a nude man dancing onstage, to symbolise the vulnerability of the character Gregor Samsa in Kafka's Metamorphosis, on discovering he has turned into a bug. Lai says she may scrap the nude scene if she decides it doesn't work in context.

The other two spring productions also push the envelope. One Table N Chairs: The Five Senses of Chinese Opera pairs traditional Chinese opera with western dances such as the tango as well as modern costumes and props for a jarring effect. 'It makes you think about what is traditional, what is modern, what is new, what is old,' says Clementine Chan, the CCDC's programme and marketing director. Jumping Frames is a funky dance-video production consisting of both commissioned pieces and others selected from a competition held last year.

The renovations to the CCDC's headquarters - 25,000 square feet on four floors at 11 Shatin Pass Road in Wong Tai Sin - began this month and will be completed in May, says Pun. The new 1,800sqft studio will be large enough to accommodate spectators, and also will be available to anyone who wants to propose an experimental dance work, filling a void in official backing, Pun says.

The CCDC's six studios were refurbished last year. A 1,000sqft cafe offering books, video and souvenirs - as well as drinks and snacks - will open in May. The cafe will be open only to CCDC members (membership costs $220 a year). As well, the CCDC teaches classes at its headquarters and at schools and universities - another way it's trying to cultivate modern dance lovers.

'In Hong Kong, it's really hard to find any support of dance,' Pun says. 'If you just want to express yourself, I don't think the government is interested in giving money.'

Hopefully, with its new programmes, new centre, new studio and new cafe, the CCDC will be able to soon start standing on its own two feet.

Comedy of K, Kwai Tsing Theatre, April 2-3, 8pm, tickets $120-$500 Urbtix, tel: 2734 9009

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