Liu Yuyao and Zhang Siyuan will help to celebrate the Hong Kong Ballet's 35th year
Hong Kong Ballet is 35 years old this year. A celebration programme opens on October 24 at the Cultural Centre where the company is venue partner — and which itself will be 25 in November. With senior ballerina Jin Yao on maternity leave, the spotlight will be on two young dancers, Liu Yuyao (newly promoted to principal) and Zhang Siyuan.
A Celebration of Dance
Hong Kong Ballet
Hong Kong Ballet is 35 years old this year. A celebration programme opens on October 24 at the Cultural Centre where the company is venue partner — and which itself will be 25 in November. With senior ballerina Jin Yao on maternity leave, the spotlight will be on two young dancers, Liu Yuyao (newly promoted to principal) and Zhang Siyuan.
Both shone in the company's recent hit Don Quixote and they personify two classic types of ballerina — lyrical and virtuoso. "We are lucky to have two such talented dancers who complement each other so well," says artistic director Madeleine Onne.
While Liu's slender physique and soft movement lend themselves to lyrical roles, it's her acting ability that makes her stand out.
Thoughtful and reserved, the first inkling that there was more to her than meets the eye came in 2009 when she ran the gamut of passion, rage and madness to staggering effect in an original short piece created by fellow dancers Li Yiran and Yo Takahira. "Until then, everyone thought I was really conventional," says Liu, "Suddenly they saw something else."