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Trinity Laban in Hong Kong

Wed 20 February 2019

London’s Creative Conservatoire continues to build international relationships through collaborative performance project at the British Council’s SPARK festival.

Ahead of CoLab 2019 – Trinity Laban’s annual festival of collaboration – Head of CoLab Joe Townsend and Director of Dance Sara Matthews travelled to Hong Kong for British Council’s festival SPARK: The Science and Art of Creativity.

Working at the cross-over of art and science, the Trinity Laban mentors collaborated with dance and music students from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HK APA) to create CoLab Journeys, a 17-minute semi-improvised, immersive performance that combined original movement and sound.

The week-long visit culminated in six outdoor public performances at the Old Parade Ground of Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts, with Director of the British Council Hong Kong Jeff Streeter calling the collaboration “one of the highlights of the festival”.

HK APA dance student Natalie commented –

“I really appreciate the opportunity to take part in the SPARK project. The performances were so playful and challenging at the same time. I found it really refreshing to do something different to what I am used to doing. I enjoyed improvising, experimenting with different approaches, and connecting with the audience, who were also part of the performance.”

Fellow participant Evelyn Lee Wai Yan commented –

“Working outside my comfort zone has enable me to become more confident, and I enjoyed the processes of exchanging ideas and getting to know other artists. Although we have done the performance, this is only the beginning.”

As London’s Creative Conservatoire, Trinity Laban is a leader in creative performance learning and teaching. CoLab Journeys forms part of a wider initiative that sees Trinity Laban working with international creative partners to develop cross-arts collaboration and to further explore artistic practice.

This year, Trinity Laban welcomes National Taiwan University of Arts and University of Southern California to take part in five CoLab 2019 projects. To find out more, visit our CoLab pages or join us for CoLab Proms Party Friday 22 February.

(Image credit: ATUM)