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Breakdance, hip hop, martial arts … and an orchestra playing classical music? Genres meet in 2 Hong Kong events

  • Breakdance’s debut as an Olympic sport is celebrated in Hong Kong in a show featuring two orchestras and ‘ambassador of French hip hop’ Mourad Merzouki
  • Another show in the city will see classical musicians share a stage with breakdancers, BMX riders, skaters, skateboarders and more

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ISH Dance Collective from Amsterdam will brings its blend of street dance, sports and music to Hong Kong in June 2024. Before that, breakdance will be paired with classical music in Symphony of New Worlds, a City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong programme. Photo: WKCDA

In Paris this summer, breakdancing, or “breaking”, will move from the streets to the stadium as it debuts as an Olympic sport.

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The street dance form that first took the world by storm in the 1980s is also breaking boundaries in Hong Kong – two upcoming performances will see break dancers perform on the same stage as classical musicians.

On May 23-24, French conductor Zahia Ziouani will lead France’s Divertimento Symphony Orchestra, which she founded, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in an electrifying fusion of music and movement styles from around the globe.

Part of this year’s French May Art Festival, the show, titled “Symphony of New Worlds”, will feature a diverse repertoire from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

Zahia Ziouani will conduct France’s Divertimento Symphony Orchestra and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in a performance of music accompanied by breakdance and others forms of movement.
Zahia Ziouani will conduct France’s Divertimento Symphony Orchestra and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in a performance of music accompanied by breakdance and others forms of movement.

Ziouani, who spearheaded this collaboration, tells the Post that the idea behind it is to create a new world where “we accept new forms and act together with diversity in music and dance”.

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