HKUST Arts Festival 2021 - Art, Despite the Pandemic - My Dear with Passionate Eyes: an Afternoon of Central Asian Dance by Pasha Umer and Eugene Leung
Updated:
- Event Live Streaming will be available. (YouTube Link: HKUST Center for the Arts)
- For joining the event physically, please submit registration via this Engage webpage. LIMITED SEATING!
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HKUST Arts Festival 2021 - ART, DESPITE THE PANDEMIC 藝術在蔓延
My Dear with Passionate Eyes: an Afternoon of Central Asian Dance by Pasha Umer and Eugene Leung
From the royal courts of the Uyghurs in Kashgar and Uzbeks in Khiva, to the steppes of the nomadic Kazakhs and to the oasis village of the Dolans, Central Asia is home to a wide variety of dance traditions, in turns exquisite, playful and exuberant. In this performance, the famous dancer Pasha Umer will lead the Silk Road Dance Cultural Society to bring you a rare chance to experience these dance traditions up-close: not only will there be live singing and music accompaniment on traditional instruments featuring Eugene Leung of The Nur Collective, there will also be the opportunity to try dancing yourself!
PROGRAM
- Uyghur Dance - Kashgar Senem
- Uyghur Classical Music and Dance - Jula & merghuli from Chabbiyat muqam
- Kazakh Dance - Qara zhorga
- Tajik Dance - Mehan
- Uzbek Music Solo - Lazgi
- Uyghur Dance - Meshrep
GUEST ARTISTS
Pasha Umer, Dance
Pasha Umer, one of the most internationally recognized dancers, began her career in 1981 as the star solo performer of the Xinjiang Song and Dance Ensemble in Beijing. As the only Uyghur soloist to represent Xinjiang dance in China and Internationally, she was awarded a top national honor for her artistic ability from the China Ministry of Culture in 1992. She also specializes in solo dances of the Uyghur, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz minorities. She performed other ethnic dances include Egyptian, Indian, Spanish, Japanese, Hawaiian, Turkish, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and African.
Since her arrival in Hong Kong in 1993, Pasha has been active in the dance community and performed in various international venues. She has choreographed dance for “Turandot” in Hong Kong as well as the International Dance Company of Amsterdam. She has also taught at the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and universities in Hong Kong. She obtained a professional certificate from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and is currently teaching Xinjiang folk dance at the Academy. Pasha continues to perform internationally and has toured in USA, France, England, Scotland and Asia extensively.
During the Hong Kong reunification with China in 1997, Pasha gave a solo-performance, “Aurora Over Silk Road” to a full house at the Grand Theater of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and also performed as the lead dancer for the “July 1st 1997 Reunification Gala” held at the Hong Kong Coliseum. She also performed as the principal dancer for the “Immeasurable Journey of the Butterflies” at the prestigious Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Pasha, as Creative Art Director for the Silk Road Dance Cultural Society, choreographs her dances and designs all her own costumes.
Currently, in addition to her various projects, she holds classes as choreographer and dance director of Xinjiang dances at the Academy of Performing Arts and Egyptian dance at Amico Dance Center. Pasha continues to study and evolve new dance forms using her extensive performance experience and knowledge of cultures, music and dance styles of the Silk Road.
Eugene Leung, Uyghur and Uzbek dutars
Eugene Leung read music at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and subsequently earned a Masters of Music in Ethnomusicology at Goldsmiths’, University of London, during which time he became interested in the music of Central Asia, especially that of the two-stringed lute dutar, found in different forms throughout the region. He began his studies of the Uzbek dutar with the London-based Uzbek ethnomusicologist Razia Sultanova, and has since travelled a few times to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to study the instrument with renowned masters such as Alisher Alimatov, Guzal Muminova and Sirojiddin Juraev. More recently, he has also been studying the Turkmen dutar with Oghlan Bakhshi from Iran, as well as the Arabic violin with Driss Berrada from Morocco.
Eugene is active in the promotion of traditional musics from regions along the ancient Silk Road in Hong Kong. He co-founded The Nur Collective, which focuses on promoting and performing traditional music from Central Asia and the Middle East on authentic instruments, with performances at the Academic Community Hall of Hong Kong Baptist University and the Hong Kong Maritime Museum among other venues. Eugene has also given talks hosted by the LCSD, the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, the Baptist University and Lingnan University on related subjects. He was invited by the Music Office to create the roving exhibition “Classical Music of Central Asia” which is touring selected public libraries in 2020/21, and he is also the curator of the exhibition “Beyond Europe and Asia: Traditional Music and Costumes from Central Asia, Caucasus and the Middle East” for HKUST Arts Festival 2021.
Celine Tang, Dance
Celine Tang studies in True Light Middle School of Hong Kong and started her dance journey at the age of 3. She has been admitted to the Children’s and Youth Troupes of Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC). As a young professional dancer, she performed in many large-scale dance shows such as “Mulan”, “The Happy Prince”, “Lung Fung Teahouse”, “Magical Adventures of Baby Polar Bear and the 12 Zodiac Animals”, “Dim Sum Adventures@ Lung Fung Teahouse”, “Fun Ride with Big Beard”, “A Sea of Smiling LT Ducks” and “The Story of a Blissful Tribe”. She has represented HKDC to attend many cultural exchange programs. She received an HKDC scholarship to participate in Asia Dance Arts Festival 2019 in Singapore, and was awarded the Gold Prize and “Creative Choreographer” award in the open group competition. In 2020, she was acclaimed as an excellent young dancer by the professional judges of HKDC “Training at Home” program.
Celine has received many awards in solo dance competitions, such as “Bauhinia Cup Dance Championships” , “The Hong Kong Open Dance Contest”, “Dance World Cup” and “Hong Kong Schools Dance Festival”. She won scholarships of “Gifted Young Dance Program” from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in two consecutive years. Recently, she was selected as the “Student of the Year – Performing Artist” by the South China Morning Post.
ONLINE REGISTRATION
- HKUST Staff Members and Students:
Please submit the online registration via Engage (click the RSVP button on this event page) - HKUST Staff Quarter Residents & Alumni: Click Here
REMARKS 備註
Free admission 免費入場 | Free Live Streaming 節目免費直播
Physical event for HKUST members only 實體活動只供科大成員參與
- No admission under the age of 6 六歲或以下恕不招待
Online registration is required; each registration admits one person only.
參與活動必須先網上登記；每個登記只限一人出席活動。Please arrive at the venue 15 minutes early before the showtime.
請於演出15分鐘前抵達場地。Attendees must show their HKUST ID card to the reception desk for identification before admission.
出席者必須於接待處出示科大證以核實登記資料，方可進入場內。If the registrant cannot attend the event, please change your RSVP status on the Engage page or send an email to artsctr@ust.hk to release the quota.
如登記者無法出席活動，請於Engage頁面更改RSVP選項 或 傳送電郵通知至 artsctr@ust.hk，將活動名額留給其他科大成員。
DISEASE PREVENTION MEASURES 防疫措施
- A temperature check is arranged at entrances. The audience with fever symptoms will be denied entry and should seek immediate medical advice.
觀眾進入場地前須接受體溫檢測，若有發燒症狀，將不得進場，並建議盡快求醫。 - Masks must be worn at all times in the venue.
場地內必須佩戴自備的口罩。 - Special seating arrangements and capacity control have been implemented. Please follow the seating instruction of the CFA staff.
為配合表演場地使用人數上限及保持社交距離，觀眾席現正實施特別座位安排。請觀眾遵從藝術中心職員指示入座。 - Hand sanitizers are provided in the venue.
場地入口均設有酒精消毒搓手液。
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ENQUIRY
HKUST Center for the Arts
E-mail: artsctr@ust.hk
Website：https://artsctr.ust.hk
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ORGANIZED BY
HKUST Center for Education Innovation and Center for the Arts