A deaf dance group in Hong Kong has said it was “saddened” after a charity arts organisation called off three performances scheduled for next month citing “changes in production arrangements.”
The Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) confirmed with HKFP on Thursday that it had cancelled community dance performance in collaboration with Fun Forest, a dance group consisting of members with hearing impairments.
The cancellation came a little over a month before the dance drama was set to be performed in Youth Square in Chai Wan on March 22 and 23.
He also served as a sign language interpreter for press conferences organised by protesters in 2019.
Wong said on Wednesday night that he was uncertain whether the dance show would continue as planned.
“If the performance was suddenly cancelled, then the answer is very obvious,” he said.
In a Chinese-language statement released on Thursday night, Wong said his original intention was to use dance as a means to contribute towards building an inclusive society. The news of the cancellation had left members of the dance group “deeply saddened,” he said.
“I can only reluctantly accept the decision made by the organising committee. I had hoped to deliver a good performance, I did not think the performance would be cancelled at the end,” Wong said.
In a statement released on Thursday, HKJC said the performance was under the “stART Up Community Arts Project,” organised by the HKYAF. The foundation curated and executed the daily operation of the project and all of its activities, HKJC said.
“The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is the funder, but has no direct involvement in the project,” the statement read.
Hong Kong has seen several performances cancelled in recent weeks, with performing arts group Fire Makes Us Human losing a venue for a play due to government pressure. A school it had hired performance space from to put on two plays was told by the Education Bureau to cancel the lease agreement. The group later announced to suspend operations.
The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts also scrapped a graduation show featuring the play Accidental Death of an Anarchist, saying it had been cancelled due to “changes in the Academy’s production plan.”
The production based on the play written by Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo was scheduled to be performed between mid-February and early March. Local media reported that some of those involved said they felt “helpless” and were “speechless” about the cancelled performance.
Correction 4pm, 17/2/24: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Dario Fu, as opposed to Dario Fo. We apologise to Mr Fo for the error.
