The first edition of Hong Kong Soul, a platform for dance and performance from Hong Kong, will showcase three programmes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
There will be a remake of the Lion dance with beatboxing, martial arts, tricking and parkour (TS Crew’s No Dragon No Lion at C aurora), life-and-death stories of human beings, cats and cities by 63-year-old choreographer / dancer (Cheuk Yin Mui’s Diary VII: The Story of… at C aurora) and politically-infused contemporary movement (The (Hong) Kong Girls triple bill of work by P K Wong, Alice Ma and Justyne Li at Summerhall).
In 2021, TS Crew and its artistic director Hugh Cho decided to create a contemporary dance-circus show, based on their cultural roots. The resulting work—No Dragon No Lion—deconstructs the Lion Dance, a traditional ritual form of performing arts in Hong Kong. Eight performers transform the Chinese opera classic into a performance incorporating beatboxing, martial arts, tricking and parkour.
Now 63, dancer and choreographer Cheuk Yin Mui started her Diary project in 1986, developing it into a series of intimate and autobiographical works that act as a danced journal. In this latest edition, Mui imagines herself as a feral cat stalking the streets of the city she loves.
Originally a misogynist label for women in Hong Kong, the term ‘Kong Girl’ has been reclaimed and now takes on new meanings. In this politically-infused triple bill, The (Hong) Kong Girls, three female choreographers use their different perspectives to tell their stories and show their personal Kong Girl identity.
All three programmes run from 2 to 13 August in Edinburgh, with previews at RADA in London on 29 and 30 July.