The Hong Kong Ballet 香港芭蕾舞團

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.

蕭弘毅以其獨具匠心的攝影技巧，躋身於世界知名表演藝術攝影家之列，香港芭蕾舞團特別邀請他為舞團演出拍攝照片，以留紀錄，可謂深慶得人。蕭弘毅不負所托，以敏銳的觸覺及靈活的鏡頭，將香港芭蕾舞團眾舞者的舞姿、服飾及神態，一一凝定。繼其前作《中國戲曲》之後，蕭弘毅再次藉豐富的色彩和光影變化，記錄舞者最動人的一刻，無論是曼妙優雅，抑熱情澎湃，都活靈活現。

過去多年，蕭弘毅共拍下25齣香港芭蕾舞團演出的紀錄，包括古典名劇《天鵝湖》、《吉賽爾》及《胡桃夾子》；專為中國舞團編製的《梁祝學堂》及《末代皇帝》；以及富現代感的《如意》及《娃娃世界》等。蕭弘毅從眾多存照中，精選最令人回味的傑出之作，呈獻讀者眼前。此外，並附每劇大綱及舞者簡介。無論是芭蕾舞還是攝影及藝術愛好者，均將從中獲得無窮樂趣。

Siu Wang-Ngai is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and photographer and co-author with Peter Lovrick of Chinese Opera: Images and Stories.

蕭弘毅為英國皇家攝影會院士，與羅愛儒合作的攝影集《中國戲曲》，奠立其演藝攝影的崇高地位。