Founded in 1979, City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) has always been a key player and witness of the vigorous development of contemporary dance in Hong Kong. We understand that in addition to the individual endeavour of arts groups and artists, collaboration between parties from different fields beyond dance is also crucial to the development of the art form. CCDC cares deeply about the development of contemporary dance, as such, we set up the City Contemporary Dance Laureate to give recognition to individuals who have contributed to the development of our art form in Hong Kong, and to encourage more input and participation from the public. The first City Contemporary Dance Laureate award presentation ceremony would be held at the fourth-floor foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on Saturday 16 April at 6pm.
The award recognises those who have made significant contributions to contemporary dance in Hong Kong in the past year through creating projects or activities with strong impact on the field, supporting the sustainable development of contemporary dance as an art form. There is no restriction on nationality or region for the award winners. They are selected from a wide range of backgrounds and fields. However, current CCDC board members and employees are not eligible for any awards to ensure fairness.
City Contemporary Dance Laureate consists of three prizes. The award recipients in 2016 are: art administrator and producer Ms Anna Chan, cultural critic Lok Fung (Dr Natalia Chan) and lighting designer Mr Lee Chi-wai. Each of them has been working diligently on the promotion, creation and development of Hong Kong contemporary dance.
Ms Anna Chan, Head of Artistic Development (Dance), West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Ms Anna CY Chan is currently the Head of Artistic Development (Dance) of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). Leading the WKCDA team, she co-presented “New Works Forum – Screendance Public Forum” together with CCDC, inviting world famous video experts and young dancers from Hong Kong to explore the combination of dance and video, while “The Satellite of Hong Kong Showcase” brought curators from overseas to Hong Kong to view works by young choreographers, opening up touring opportunities for Hong Kong contemporary dance. Ms Chan spares no effort in promoting and connecting emerging contemporary dancers from Hong Kong to the international dance scene with her far-sighted vision and mindfulness.
Ms Anna CY Chan is a performer, producer, curator, arts educator and administrator. She lectured at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) from 2003 to 2014 and is currently the Head of Artistic Development (Dance) of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. From 2006 to 2011, Ms Chan was Hong Kong Dance Alliance’s Chairperson, where she curated the first “Dance Enhance: Dance Appreciation and Criticism Writing Project” in 2009. She became World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific’s Vice-President (East Asia) in 2007 and has since been actively involved in international dance exchange and development, including World Alliance of Arts Education events, Asia-Pacific Alliance for Arts Education summit, WAAE networking strategic working groups, daCi WDA Global Summit and European Dance Strategic Network.
As a producer, she champions innovative work and cross-disciplinary collaboration, organising productions for International Arts Carnival, Hong Kong Dance Alliance, Hong Kong Ballet Group, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Dance Festival and HKAPA.
Ms Chan regularly speaks at festivals and events, including Guangdong Dance Festival, Beijing Dance Festival, LIVE! Singapore and Europe-Asia Roundtable Sessions.
Lee Chi-wai, Lighting Designer
Mr Lee Chi-wai is the stage and lighting designer of ODDs, a new work by Hong Kong independent choreographer Ivanhoe Lam. He installed rotating motors in a small black box theatre – a device that cost little but created a strong interactive visual effect – a true out of the box idea. After the premiere in Hong Kong, he improved the installation and invented a portable reassembling method so the whole set of ODDs could be easily transported to Beijing and Guangzhou for further performances. The ingenuity won him great reviews. Mr Lee set an excellent example for the development of Hong Kong contemporary dance by creating innovative productions with limited resources.
Lee Chi-wai worked at City Contemporary Dance Company’s Technical Department. In 2008, he established Hong Kong Theatre Design Co. Ltd with Lau Tin-ming and Ho Tak-ching, committed to promoting the creation of local performing arts and environmental dance. His designs include Dance On Series: ODDs by Ivanhoe Lam, L’Etranger by Victor Fung, Galatea X by Justyne Li and Wong Tan-ki of Neo Dance, Dan’s Exhibitionist 2011 by Daniel Yeung, Dancing Blue by Mui Cheuk-yin and Lee Chun-chow, Unlock Dancing Plaza’s Dreams 10 Night and Upon Calligraphy choreographed by Sang Jijia and presented by Guangdong Modern Dance Company.
Lok Fung, Cultural Critic
In 2015, Lok Fung (Dr Natalia Chan) published a compilation of dance critiques Dancing in the Maze: Lok Fung’s Anthology of Arts Criticism II, containing 61 articles she has written and discussing 85 dance pieces. The book covers every type of productions on the stage, by large, medium, small dance groups and independent choreographers, as well as environmental dance performances outside traditional theatres. She is not only a scholar, writer and poet, but also a cultural observer. She reinterprets Hong Kong dances from new perspectives and comes up with disruptive and inspirational ideas. Writings by Lok Fung are insightful and knowledgeable, putting forward a clear picture for the development of contemporary dance in Hong Kong.
Poet and cultural critic Lok Fung is the pen name of Dr Natalia Chan. She received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego. She is currently the Adjunct Assistant Professor of the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also presents an RTHK radio programme on performing arts in Hong Kong. Her research interests include cultural and film theory, gender studies, popular culture, performance studies, comparative literature, cross-dressing and fashion. In 1980s, she was involved in the editorial of two Hong Kong arts magazines, and founded a poetry magazine with Albert Leung, Ng Mei Kwan and Yam Gong. Her writings can be found in Hong Kong and Taiwan newspapers and magazines; published works include Distance and Dislocation (poetry); The Last Fairy Tale (short stories) and Decadent City: Hong Kong Popular Culture (commentary). Her poetry Flying Coffin received the 9th Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature (Poetry), and Butterfly of Forbidden Colors: The Artistic Image of Leslie Cheung received the 2008 Hong Kong Book Prize as well as its “The Best Book of the Year”.