Fringe Festival launched Friday

The 18th Macao City Fringe Festival kicked off Friday evening with an opening ceremony held at the Old Court Building, which was attended by Leong Wai Man, vice- president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, other government officials and representatives of some of the participating art groups.

The Festival began with same-day events including ‘Sigma’ by circus group Gandini Juggling and award- winning choreographer Seeta Patel from the United Kingdom, showcasing exuberant rhythms and colors and creating virtuoso geometries through the combination of circus and Indian dance.

This Fringe Festival is themed “Extra. Ordinary.” According to organizers, through different means of expression, the festival seeks to “liberate creativity from theatre spaces to every corner of the city, injecting changes to daily scenes, and ultimately turning arts into a daily routine.”

A host of other activities will be staged until the Festival concludes on January 27. This includes the Interactive Urban Music Ensemble featuring installation art and an outdoor orchestra, which invites audiences to play music by touching an installation with drawings of different musical instruments.

Additionally, Ephemeral Windows – Rooftop Street Art uses rice paper to show a non-invasive street art, and invites people from different walks of life to exchange views and participate, transforming the city through art. Flash Mob – Phubber Drama invites the audiences to engage in an interaction filled with fun and reflection by catching “phubbers” at bus stops.

Other performances include The Icebook by British artists Davy and Kristin McGuire from the United Kingdom, the world’s first projection mapped pop-up book; Be My Old Friend by the Dream Theatre Association, a show which tells personal stories of the elderly to piece together the bygone days of Macau; the outdoor performance Sonia, written by local scriptwriter Ma Wai In and directed by Ku Ieng Un, in which the audience will listen to a story reflecting the “reality” of “non-human” characters; the dance performance Goldfish, presented by Four Dimension Spatial from Macau and Changde Modern Dance Company from Hunan, revealing concealed memories of emotional taboos under a dream theme.

The Fringe Festival also features 10 outreach activities, including workshops, talks, art critique and sharing sessions, which seek to enrich the audience’s artistic experience with more diverse activities.