Immerse in the world of dance with Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels at French May

May 5-6, 8pm, Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District ($280/person)

Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of fantasy and emotion with Gisèle Vienne's Crowd, a powerful choreographed performance of 15 dancers at Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels for French May Arts Festival. Drawing inspiration from urban dance and puppet theatre, the convulsive gestures will transport you to a fragmented universe where different realities and temporalities coexist. With a background in philosophy and visual arts, Vienne's work is genre-defying complex yet harmonious composition of performance art.  

May 12-13, 8pm, Sheung Wan Civic Centre ($250/person); May 14, 8pm, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District (Free admission)

Choreographer and dancer Ola Maciejewska debuted her choreography in 2011 with a solo performance for Loie Fuller's Research. In 2015, she adapted the piece for three dancers in a work titled Bombyx Mori. Witness these two performances at the season's French May Festival under the dance programmes from Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. Watch the revival of the famous Serpentine Dance created by Loïe Fuller performed by Ola Maciejewska at M+, West Kowloon Cultural District on May 14, and the Bombyx Mori on May 12 to 13 at Sheung Wan Civic Centre. 

May 13, 4pm; May 14, 2pm, 4pm Qube at PMQ (Free admission, registration required)

Watch and learn about the Bolognese courtship dance called the ‘Polka Chinata’, a dance traditionally performed only by men dating back to the early 1900s. Italian choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni, awarded the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance in 2019, presents a 20-minute contemporary version of the dance set to an electronic musical score. The physically demanding and almost acrobatic performance, Save the Last Dance for Me, has been presented over a hundred times worldwide and is now coming to Hong Kong for you to experience.

May 20, 4pm, Great Lawn, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District (Free admission)

Be in awe and witness complex aerial and on-ground acrobatic performances at Rachid Ouramdane’s Les Traceurs. Aerial artists and adventurous athletes will take over the Great Lawn at Art Park amidst city views to perform a 40-minute intricate dance programme that will surely make you look at the landscape through a different lens. 

Performances are subject to change depending on the weather conditions.   

May 20, 7.30pm, May 21, 2.30pm, Kwai Tsing Theatre ($180/person)

Experience the captivating solo performance BSTRD, featuring Katerina Andreou – clad in an all-white ensemble of T-shirts, pants, and trainers – as she dances and performs amidst pulsating sounds and beats from a vinyl turntable. In this contemporary performance of mixed music and movement, Katerina delves into notions of impurity and transformation.  

To encourage exploration of the world of dance, the dance festival will also feature a series of meet-and-greet events with the artists, as well as creative workshops open to both professional dancers and amateurs.  

For more information, visit dancereflections-vancleefarpels.com.