Review | A Rite of Spring for our times from Hong Kong Ballet caps thrilling triple-bill season finale
- Brilliantly choreographed, company’s new take on Stravinsky ballet about a sacrificial maiden makes it a parable of humankind’s destruction of nature
- Programme began with an admirable attempt at Wayne Mcgregor’s challenging work Chroma; Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit was superbly danced
Hong Kong Ballet ended its 2018/19 season on a high note with a triple bill of ballets new to Hong Kong and a renewed collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Alongside local premieres of signature works by celebrated international choreographers, Wayne McGregor’s Chroma and Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, a powerful new version of The Rite of Spring by the company’s own choreographic team of Ricky Hu Songwei and Yuh Egami more than held its own.
The three pieces provided striking contrasts in content, style and technique, and the company performed impressively despite its ranks being reduced by a spate of injuries. It was a pleasure to hear the Hong Kong Phil tackling three very different scores under the able baton of Tim Murray.
McGregor’s 2006 Chroma, set to a driving, rock-influenced score by Jody Talbot drawing on music by The White Stripes, was the first piece he created as resident choreographer of Britain’s Royal Ballet. Its radical combination of contemporary and ballet technique caused a sensation, winning awards and dividing audiences and critics into “love it or loathe it” camps.
If today it has come to be considered iconic instead of controversial, its complex human geometry and McGregor’s trademark relentless kineticism make it a huge challenge to perform, especially the fiendishly difficult partnering.