Part of this year’s French May Art Festival, the show, titled “Symphony of New Worlds”, will feature a diverse repertoire from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.
Ziouani, who spearheaded this collaboration, tells the Post that the idea behind it is to create a new world where “we accept new forms and act together with diversity in music and dance”.
“It’s not very usual here in France to have this kind of music on the stage of classical performances. ‘Symphony of New Worlds’ makes it possible to discover the world not only by music but also by dance,” she says.
On stage Mourad Merzouki, known as the “Ambassador of French hip hop”, will infuse the music’s vibrant rhythms with a dynamic fusion of hip hop, breakdance, martial arts, and contemporary dance.
As a choreographer trained in martial arts and circus acrobatics, Merzouki says expanding the boundaries of hip hop dance is a long-standing endeavour.
“Breaking down barriers, crossing disciplines, creating unexpected dialogues, shaking things up, and being shaken are what deeply drive me in the process of creation,” Merzouki says.
It’s a very amazing opportunity to create a project about the spirit about the Olympic Games
He says he hopes that this union of the worlds of classical music and street dance can bring both genres to a wider audience.
While the distinct nature of the two art forms has posed challenges, both Ziouani and Merzouki have found the collaboration on “Symphony of New Worlds” a rewarding experiment.
“This collaboration allows [both] to grow in terms of openness, and also taking risks,” says Merzouki.
For Ziouani, the fusion with hip hop dance injects energy and diversity to classical music, as well as resonating with the inclusion of breakdance as an Olympic sport.
“It’s a very amazing opportunity to create a project about the spirit about the Olympic Games,” she says. “The Games is not only a feast or a big event of sports but also about meeting different cultures and Olympic values.”
Merzouki says the performance reflects the spirit of sports competition and its values of excellence, friendship, and respect.
“Our goal is to take the audience on a journey that resonates with poetry, beauty, light, and generosity. In a sense, we need to counterbalance the complexities of the world we are in today,” he adds.
Coincidentally, another cross-disciplinary fusion of music and dance will take place at Freespace in the West Kowloon Cultural District in June.
Called “Elements of Freestyle”, the performance by Amsterdam-based ISH Dance Collective promises to be a theatrical blend of breakdance, in-line skating, skateboarding, freestyle basketball, BMX and free running, accompanied by live music performed by cellist Annie Tangberg and violinist Vera van der Bie.
It is a showcase of the limitless possibilities of contemporary performance as well as the innovative and transformative power of Freespace, which opened five years ago as the city’s largest black box theatre, says Paul Tam, the cultural district’s executive director of performing arts.
In addition to the June 28-30 performances, members of the ISH Dance Collective will lead three public workshops in June.
“Symphony of New Worlds”, Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, May 23-24, 8pm. Visit www.frenchmay.com for details. “Elements of Freestyle”, ISH Dance Collective, The Box, Freespace, June 28-29, 8pm, June 30, 3pm. Visit www.westkowloon.hk for details.