A new production by renowned choreographer Helen Lai brings the story of Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires to life in Hong Kong, but felt rather sanitised compared with the original.

Hong Kong setting for Act One of the ballet and tongue-in-cheek cultural references will endear this production to city audiences for years to come.

Hong Kong Ballet’s profile has never been higher and, despite the pandemic setting back its international ambitions, the company is set to wow the city with its upcoming production of The Nutcracker.

Hong Kong Dance Company put on an exceptional performance, backed by music and designs by Oscar winners Tan Dun and Tim Yip.

Ye Feifei and Amber Lewis were outstanding, and 11-year old Matsuharu Wesley Lai looks like a future star, but they deserved better than Cynthia Harvey’s 2010 production.

Neon signs, bamboo scaffolding, kung fu, Tybalt a triad boss – Hong Kong Ballet’s Romeo + Juliet looks stunning. Some of the drama is lost, however, and the dancing was patchy.

After two postponements it was third time lucky for Hong Kong Ballet, whose performance of Balanchine’s Jewels showed the troupe’s technique and energy.

Hong Kong Ballet replaced its cancelled live season with an online festival of filmed performances. While many pieces are danced strongly, they often suffer from overly fancy camerawork.

The Hong Kong Ballet and the City Contemporary Dance Company both pulled out all the stops to celebrate their 40th anniversaries, but anti-government protests saw ticket sales slump and even a show of Swan Lake halted.

Akram Khan’s farewell full-length solo performance ‘Xenos’ in Hong Kong showed off his mastery of theatre, his trademark brilliant use of design and integration of live music, and hisown extraordinary dancing.

In the Norwegian National Ballet’s starkly powerful retelling of Ibsen’s 1881 play for Hong Kong’s World Cultures Festival, production values offset complicated plot issues thanks to clever touches of theatre.

A work of startling relevance in the MeToo era, Rigoletto requires the right balance between the forces of light and darkness, one not quite achieved here despite the production’s excellence, vivid acting and natural singing.

In one of his first films, Frenchman Philippe Joly was only allowed one take, and got danger money – ‘Well, its explosives,’ they said; since then he’s died opposite Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat and Jackie Chan. Now he wants meatier roles.

Brilliantly choreographed, company’s new take on Stravinsky ballet about a sacrificial maiden makes it a parable of humankind’s destruction of nature; it was the pick of a thrilling triple bill of contrasting works danced with fierce commitment.

Winterreise and The Rite of Spring show the range of Lai’s talent, from the intimate to the flamboyant. Her mastery of the stage is on display throughout, with outstanding performances from Chou Shu-yi and Irene Lo.

Hamburg Ballet veteran was on stage to narrate highlights of his journey through dance, performed as part of the 2019 Hong Kong Arts Festival; excerpts showed his ability to create both narrative and abstract ballet.

Lin, 72, has led Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre for nearly 50 years, and put Asian dance on the international map, but he steps down later this year. His iconic works are being performed at this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Artistic director Septime Webre pulls out all the stops with stunning visuals, gorgeous music and an abundance of good dancing. Where it falls short as an adaptation of a great novel, it makes up for in sheer entertainment value.

Qioa Yang, 55, shows off her astounding flexibility in this celebration of her career. The lighting and videography were brilliant, but some of the choreography failed to do the dancer justice.

No fewer than three productions of Giselle, the farewell appearance of Jin Yao and an epic performance of Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus were highlights. But Hong Kong Dance Company’s puzzling season was a disappointment.

The first show, Nuts’hell, looks at psychiatric diagnosis and insanity. The second show, Jangdan, is a more commercial dance than contemporary.

• Veteran dancer Jin Yao gives her ‘finest performance’ in emotionally charged ballet and guest dancer Marcelo Gomes lifts production to new heights.

• Brazilian who quit American Ballet Theatre under a cloud relishes opportunities in his new career as a freelance. A guest in Hong Kong Ballet’s production of Giselle, he says the company can skyrocket under Septime Webre.

Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor’s Tree of Codes opened the New Vision Arts Festival with a full-length production that was stunning to watch but ran out of things to say.

A co-production between Hong Kong Opera and New York City Opera, the show was a mixture of great vocal talent, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s great rendition of the score and a plot with a few weaknesses.

Ashley Sutton’s tribute to the Art Nouveau era is carried through in meticulous detail, offering a gorgeous array of Tiffany stained glass lamps, tables and candle holders, with classic cocktails to match.

The annual choreographers’ showcase had its moments, but the original pieces showed signs of a lack of mutual inspiration between artists and dancers.

A key card gets you into a dimly lit retro looking bar, where transparent cocktails can be ordered from an invisible menu. However, the staff are young and inexperienced and some of the drinks could be larger.

Founded by two celebrated mixologists, Joe Villanueva and Sandeep Kumar, the bar’s regal interior sets the tone, and the signature cocktails focused on adding a Spanish twist to classic concepts, complements it perfectly.

The first production choreographed by artistic director Septime Webre that the troupe has performed, this Alice is magically inventive and packed with spectacular effects