UK National Day is a chance to showcase UK culture and creativity on the international stage and to demonstrate the UK’s collaboration with China across an impressive and broad range of areas. Events on the day will include:
Swanning Around, a re-imagining of Swan Lake performed by students from
schools across China and the UK. The performance will be the culmination of the
international cultural exchange programme presented by English National Ballet,
the Royal Albert Hall, WebPlay and the British Council.
The 2010 London Symphony Orchestra tour of China, sponsored by Rolls-Royce, will be launched with a concert conducted by Kristjan J?rvi.
The Weight of Love’, a new commission by Van Le Ngoc, performed by dancers from English National Ballet and the Shanghai Ballet
The programme extends to other venues throughout Shanghai, to other cities in China and through the UK Expo website to millions more people who are unable to visit the pavilion in person. Other events the week of National Day will include:
Congregation, a new work by media artists KMA at the Rockbund Art Museum in
Shanghai. Congregation will be the world’s first ever ballet designed,
choreographed and composed for performance by the audience. Participants will
respond to the choreography of light and sound and become performers and invited
to explore the environment at their own will.
Performances by Belfast based musician Duke Special and his band at the UK pavilion.
the British Council has programmed entertainment on behalf of the UK Expo team 7 days a week for its duration. The Programme of Events reflects the UK’s regional and national excellence and diversity in arts, business, culture, sports, science and education. Much of the daily programming has concentrated on original and inventive comedy performance designed to engage audiences of all ages, drawing on the UK's great tradition of theatre and on the current international reputation of their artists and performers for inventive and crowd-pleasing work.
Groups of performers from all parts of the UK including Central Saint
Martins and Scottish contemporary dancers Janis Claxton and Alan Grieg as well
as street theatre and comedy performers including Mischief la Bas and the
Natural Theatre Company have been entertaining visitors to the site since May.
By Fang Pei