EVENT DESCRIPTION
The Sixth Edition of “No Limits”, co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, will open on 24 February 2024 and feature a variety of outstanding works created and performed by outstanding, differently-abled performers from Hong Kong and around the world.
The 2024 “No Limits” programme includes 6 live performance programmes encompassing dance, music and theatre, as well as 4 online programmes featuring works by notable European and Asian filmmakers and actors.
Under the theme “Showcasing Human Perspectives”, these works will share the experiences of performers with disabilities from various angles and perspectives, including the problems they face in their daily lives, interpersonal relationships and in the eyes of society.
On 23 March 2024, online programmes will be available for free screening via the official website www.nolimits.hk.
“No Limits” is founded on the ideals of inclusivity, creativity, community engagement and educational outreach. It promotes inclusion and diversitythrough the arts. It offers accessible services, such as audio descriptions, Braille house programmes, Hong Kong Sign Language interpretation and more, that facilitate enjoyment for all audience members.
In-venue programmes
Reminiscing: A Piano Recital by Lee Shing
The opening programme of this year is the piano recital Reminiscing by renowned Hong Kong classical pianist Lee Shing, who has been studying piano since he was a child despite his deteriorating vision hindering his ability to read music. This recital will feature three significant works by Beethoven and Schumann that have inspired and shaped Lee’s life as a performer. Through the music and experiences of the two musicians, he looks back at different stages of life and shares his own journey with the audience.
Vertigo Power of Balance, a leading contemporary dance company, presents Shape on Us. Eight dancers with varying physical abilities present unique dance postures and re-examine social conventions and truisms involving the body, as well as our perceptions of what is considered normal or abnormal.
Scored in Silence
London-based Japanese artist Chisato Minamimura presents excerpts of original recorded interviews with elderly deaf people who lived through the bombing of Hiroshima. Through a breathtaking combination of signing, mime, projected 3D animation, video footage, sounds and vibration, this theatre performance restores the experiences of deaf and hearing impaired people who survived the horrors of the atomic bomb atrocity in Japan in 1945.
Teatro La Plaza from Lima, Peru, presents a bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic work, told by a group of young actors with Down syndrome. Combining the actors’ own experiences with the original story, Hamlet explores the central, existential question of “To be or not to be?” and how people with Down syndrome and learning disabilities deal with a fast-paced society that keenly pursues efficiency.
Gentle Unicorn
In Gentle Unicorn, award-winning Italian artist Chiara Bersani puts on the skin of a mythical creature and presents herself as a unicorn. This physical theatre performance investigates the wrongs suffered by this imaginary animal, and invites us to reflect on our perceptions.
A Story in Strings: A Violin Recital by Ding Yijie
The final in-venue programme is a violin recital by award-winning young violinist Ding Yijie, whose visual impairment has not deterred her pursuit of music. This recital is Ding’s second performance since the first edition of “No Limits” in 2019. After years of professional training and study, she will again share her musical talents with the “No Limits” audience.
Online Programmes
Team Chocolate is an award-winning, seven-part TV drama centered on friendship, family and love. Jasper, a young man with Down syndrome who works at a chocolate company, is separated from his crush, Tina, due to visa issues. To be reunited with the love of his life, he travels across Europe with his friends from the chocolate factory.
Goodbye CP, an action-documentary by award-winning documentary filmmaker Kazuo Hara, presents an unflinching, compassionate and complex portrait of adults with cerebral palsy.
Blending confrontational interviews with raw footage of the everyday struggles, the documentary allows its subjects to turn the gaze back on society, forcing us to acknowledge the prejudice and difficulties faced by individuals who struggled to have their existence recognised.
The Penguin Who Couldn’t Swim is an award-winning animated short about disability and bullying. A disabled penguin who is unable to swim is isolated from the rest of her colony. But she did not give up on herself. Instead, she keeps trying different methods until she creates a pair of prosthetic wings that change her life.
All for Claire is an award-winning short animated love story with a twist. A lovestruck young man attempts to win the heart of a young woman, but is rejected and compelled to face a series of challenges. Created in collaboration with internationally recognised dancer and choreographer Claire Cunningham, one of the UK’s most acclaimed disabled performers, it recreates Cunningham’s unique movements and use of crutches through motion-capture technology.
Outreach Programmes
In addition to the above-mentioned performances, the Jockey Club “No Limits” Education and Community Programme is designed to enrich the experience of inclusive arts in the community, offering further opportunities for people of different abilities to appreciate, embrace and participate in the arts. During the past five editions, the programme reached more than 39,000 young people and received positive feedback from students, teachers and members of the public.
This year, both online and offline outreach activities are available: an online Roundtable Discussion on Rethinking Lifestyle Design and Inclusive Culture, and the “Arts from Home” drama tour. By looking at their daily pursuits, a group of local and international speakers explore with the audience how we can better define inclusion, and how we can help to create inclusive lifestyles in different communities.
The “Arts from Home” drama tour, targeting primary and secondary schools, presents an interactive theatrical performance that encourages students to explore concepts of inclusion in everyday life and across different art forms.
Arts Accessibility Services
“No Limits” continues to provide a comprehensive range of arts accessibility services with support from the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong, to enable audiences from different backgrounds to enjoy the programmes. These include Hong Kong Sign Language, theatrical interpretations, audio descriptions in Cantonese and English, accessible captions in Chinese and English, house programmes in Braille, recorded and easy-to-read formats, as well as relaxed performances and guide dog-friendly venues, among others.
