The Hong Kong Ballet

Siu Wang-Ngai has in the last few years established himself as one the world's foremost performance photographers. It was thus appropriate that the Hong Kong Ballet should invite him to make a photographic record of their artistic work. In this volume, the vivid photos brilliantly capture the dancers, the costumes and the spectacle of the Hong Kong Ballet. Anyone who knows Siu's book Chinese Opera will know what to expect in The Hong Kong Ballet amazingly vibrant colours in photos that record the full beauty of the performance moment, but which also seem to contain the dynamism of the dancers and their movements. Over the past few years, the photographer has recorded on film 25 different ballets that have been in the Hong Kong Ballet's repertoire. The ballets include classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle and The Nutcracker, ones especially appropriate for a Chinese ballet company such as Butterfly Lovers, and The Last Emperor, and such modern works as The Happenings and In the School of the Dolls. From the many pictures of each ballet that he has taken, Siu has selected exceptional and memorable images. For each ballet the book also provides a synopsis of the story, and biographical information for each of the dancers in the company who are pictured. This is a book for all who delight in the ballet, and for all who admire outstanding photographs.