I have raved and raved about the Hong Kong Ballet to anyone who’ll listen (and a good few who won’t)  since I’ve been here, I know that, but being able to see them is one of the things I truly adore about being in Hong Kong and there really aren’t that many, if I’m honest.

I’m now in my second subscription season and I’m completely fascinated by their approach to ballet. Sure, they don’t quite deliver the absolute physical perfection of the Royal Ballet at times but they make up for it in their gusto and athleticism and passion and… HUMOUR.

Introducing and communicating the story assumes the ultimate priority with an auduence whe weren’t raised with, say, The Nutcracker as an integral thread of their culture. But how they tell a story! Their choreographer, Septime Webre, even manages to integrate traditional Chinese Opera’s acrobatic cultural references into his daring productions and audiences often respond with their shouts of appreciation.  The flair and pizzazz of the dancing is absolutely breathtaking.

I’ve now been to several of the company’s productions, most recently Swan Lake, where it finally occurred to me that the swans were imitating the muscularity of real swans and that Odile/Odette actually changed her character, posture, facial expressions, demeanour completely as she swapped between her roles. We were incredibly lucky, by the way, to witness this production at the end of October. I’m sure I didn’t imagine that the MD took the music at quite a lick, and they skipped one of the intervals and several curtain calls to enable the audience to get to the MTR before it closed early because of the ongoing protests. Both performances the following day were cancelled.

The still in the header is of The Great Gatsby, which we saw in February, having returned overnight from cremating my mother’s remains. We had tickets but were so sleepy that we wondered whether to make the effort and go but this production, with its Dixie and Charleston music, was an absolute and utter joy to behold. I’m in awe of the costume department too, they are filled with such verve and joie de vivre. If you ever, EVER, get a chance to see the HKB do KILL for a ticket. They are breathtakingly astounding. Spellbinding.