The 30th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held in May. This edition is themed “a tribute to classics”, presenting a rich variety of performances and outreach activities, and inviting the public to appreciate the classics together.
This edition of the MAF will kick off with the stunning performance Vertikal, jointly produced by renowned French choreographer Mourad Merzouki and world-leading hip-hop troupe CCN Créteil & Val-de-Marne / Cie Käfig. In the performance, ten dancers will dash in the air with the support of ropes, breaking free from the limits of gravity to generate choreographic elements and produce unique, contemporary hip-hop sequences. The dance show Rain by Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and her dance company Rosas, in collaboration with the contemporary musician Steve Reich, will restage in Macao, eighteen years after its debut. With pure dance and minimalistic music, nine dancers occupy the stage, delineated by a curtain of fine strings, displaying an impressive succession of virtuoso dance phrases. To commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Lao She, the play Mr. Ma and Son, adapted from Lao She’s classic novel, will be presented with the combination of Beijing-style wit and English humour, reflecting on the exchange and collision between Chinese and Western cultures. It is just such a fusion that reflects Macao as an international city which prides itself on the harmonious coexistence of the East and the West. The play Karl Valentin Kabarett by Teatro do Eléctrico from Portugal crosses several short pieces written by Karl Valentin, a leading comedian who is hailed as the “Charlie Chaplin of Germany”, will be brought to Macao as a theatrical performance featuring music, dance and drama.
This year the MAF specially presents the closing performance The Soul of Macao to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cantonese opera for the successful inscription on the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The Cantonese opera, adapted by national first-class playwright Li Xinhua from an original play written by a Macao writer, is jointly presented by actors from Macao and the Foshan Cantonese Opera Troupe, bringing the history of Macao to life and reflecting the in-depth cultural collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
More information about the 30th Macao Arts Festival will be announced on the Festival’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/fam, the respective page on Facebook and on IC’s WeChat account.