Press conference of the 30th Macao Arts Festival
The 30th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held from 3 May to 2 June. The 30th anniversary of the event marks an important transitional point. This year, the Macao Arts Festival is themed “a tribute to the classics”, hoping to pay tribute to all classics and show its determination to create new classics. By presenting classic productions to the audience, it will continue to inject cultural vitality into Macao.
This edition of the MAF comprises a total of 22 programmes in six categories, namely “International Highlights”, “Local Artists”, “Quintessence of Tradition”, “Family Entertainment”, “Melodious Music” and “Exhibition”, as well as an outreach programme aimed at promoting arts in the community, featuring nearly 100 events.
Dance performance Vertikal kicks off the Festival; Closing programme The Soul of Macao reflects in-depth cultural collaboration in the Greater Bay Area
This edition of the MAF kicks off with the stunning performance Vertikal, jointly produced by renowned French choreographer and world-leading hip-hop troupe CCN Créteil & Val-de-Marne / Cie Käfig. In the performance, the relationship with the ground, which is essential for hip-hop dancers, is fundamentally modified. The grand closing programme The Soul of Macao is a Cantonese opera production adapted by national first-class playwright Li Xinhua from an original play written by a Macao author, 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.
International artistic and cultural gala; inject innovation into the classics
£¥€$ (LIES), produced by Ontroerend Goed from Belgium, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Macao Arts Festival, presents a live “Monopoly” game which opens the audience’s eyes to the real power of an economic bubble. Adapted by BJAMC Drama (Beijing) from Lao She’s classic novel, the play Mr. Ma and Son tells a love story in Macao with the combination of Beijing-style wit and English humour. Presented by Thalia Theatre from Germany, The Odyssey – A wandering journey based on Homer, an adaptation of the epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, incorporates innovative ideas in the classic through music and dance performance as well as invented language. In the dance show Rain by Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and her dance company Rosas, dancers occupy the stage, delineated by a curtain of fine strings, displaying an impressive succession of virtuoso dance phrases with pure dance and minimalistic music. Motion by Compagnie Zahrbat from France turns the stage into a camera lens by merging the spirit of hip-hop and the body movements of modern dance. The play Karl Valentin Kabarett by Teatro do Eléctrico from Portugal, crosses several works written by Karl Valentin, a 20th-century leading comedian in Germany, bringing an enthralling artistic and cultural gala.
Establishing an exchange platform to present excellent local works
The Macao Arts Festival has been committed to establish a stage and exchange platform for local art groups. In “Local Artists” category, Macao artists inject new perspectives into the works in recent years. Curry Bone's Travel 2019 by Step Out tracks the traces of the city’s development and fading history using a mobile application. Kaléidoscope, a production created by Hiu Kok Theatre Association in collaboration with a French director, explores land, history and personal identity. Ready to Wear by Artistry of Wind Box Community Development Association, recreates the working spirit of Macao female garment workers in the 1970s and 1980s, drawing on our collective memory. Mau Tan, Kat Cheong, inspired by the city’s densely-populated district Iao Hon, explores social changes in Macao over the past thirty years or more through the verbal memories of its residents. In Wonder.Land, organized by Ieng Chi Dance Association and Concept Pulse Studio, audiences are dazzled in the flow of light, shadow and sound, reviving their body and mind.
Inject vitality in the community through the arts; let the traditional arts bloom
The MAF is devoted to cultivate a wider audience for the arts. A series of “Family Entertainment” programmes offer unique artistic experiences for families, including the dance show The Inch-high Samurai, adapted from a fairy tale by Namstrops from Japan, Goodbye, Little Prince by the Little Mountain Arts Association and Flotante by Company Flotante from Argentina, and the artistic and cultural performances Performing Arts Gala at the Iao Hon Garden for three consecutive nights, which inject vitality in the community through the arts. In the category “Quintessence of Tradition”, Mu Guiying Breaks through the Tianmen Gate by Cantonese Opera Juvenile's Troupe of General Union of Neighbors’ Association of Macao and the Patuá theatre play Saving Troubled Daddy by Dóci Papiaçám di Macau Drama Group which has been inscribed in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macao. Additionally, the “Melodious Music” category includes the concerts An Alpine Symphony by Macao Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and Chinese Musical Painting by the Macao Chinese Orchestra, while the “Exhibition” category features the visual art exhibition“Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th Anniversary of Macao’s Return to the Motherland Beauty in the New Era —— Masterpieces from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China”.
Various discount packages available; tickets on sale from 31 March
Tickets for the 30th MAF are available at the Macau Ticketing Network from 10am on 31 March (Sunday). Reservations can be made by phone or online from 12pm onwards on the same day. On the first day of ticket sales, each person can purchase a maximum of ten tickets per performance, except for the performance Flotante, which has special ticket arrangements. Early bird discounts of 30%, subject to certain criteria, are available from 31 March to 7 April and a 20% discount will be offered from 8 April onwards. Members of the public who purchase their tickets with BOC Credit Card or BOC card will receive a 30% discount on tickets for the opening and closing performances, Vertikal and The Soul of Macao, as well as a 20% discount on all other shows. A 20% discount on tickets for all shows is also available for purchases with MasterCard, Visa Card or UnionPay Card from BCM Bank, OCBC Wing Hang Bank, Tai Fung Bank or Luso International Banking Ltd. A 50% discount will also be offered to holders of Macao Senior Citizen Card or Disability Assessment Registration Card, limited to one ticket per person. For each purchase over MOP500 (net price after discount), purchasers may receive one discount vouchers to enjoy exclusive offers at selected shops at MGM (available while stocks last). Air Macau customers can enjoy a 20% discount on ticket purchases at all ticketing outlets by presenting their respective boarding pass (flight code NX) within 7 days upon their arrival in Macao.
This edition of the MAF counts with the support of the Macao Government Tourism Office, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau, Air Macau and MGM. Macao Arts Festival website: www.icm.gov.mo/fam; email: fam@icm.gov.mo. For enquiries regarding the programme, please contact the Cultural Affairs Bureau through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. 24-hour ticket reservation hotline: (Macao) 2855 5555; (Hong Kong) 2380 5083; (Mainland China) 139 2691 1111; online ticket reservation is available at www.macauticket.com.
The press conference of the 30th Macao Arts Festival was held on 26 March, at 3:30pm, at The Vista, at MGM. The press conference was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, Grant Bowie; the President of Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer of Air Macau Company Limited, Chen Hong; the Deputy General Manager of Personal Banking and Channel Management Department of Bank of China (Macau Branch), Ngan Iek Hang; the Acting Manager of Communications & Multimedia Department of Teledifusão de Macau S.A., Cheong Sio Fun; and the Vice Presidents of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man and Chan Kai Chon.
