Homegrown and iconic French May Arts Festival is back in Hong Kong with more than hundred arts and cultural programmes, spanning photography, circus, music, dance and theatre. Good news: it will last until 30 June!

For the past three decades, the festival has been bridging Eastern and Western cultures, nurturing local talents while presenting internationally acclaimed programmes and artists, as well as forging cross-cultural collaborations between Hong Kong and France.

To help you navigate the abundance of happenings, we have selected eight highlights from contemporary dance performances and music concerts to photography exhibition to make the best of your cultural French May journey.

Symphony of New Worlds – Breakdance Symphonic

Conductor Zahia Ziouani will lead France’s Divertimento Orchestra and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, performing classical dance masterpieces from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. As they weave a tapestry of buoyant brand-new rhythms and smash through the boundaries of tradition, choreographer Mourad Merzouki and his Compagnie Käfig will unleash a medley of movement, fusing hip hop, breakdance, martial arts, and contemporary dance into a breathtaking spectacle. 

23 & 24 May – 8pm – Hong Kong Cultural Centre – Details here

LOVETRAIN2020

This performance is a choreographic ode to the sound and vibe of the eighties, embodied in the utopic drive and epic groove of pop-synth duo Tears for Fears.

Featuring hits like Mad World, Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Change, and Sowing the Seeds of Love, LOVETRAIN2020 unfolds within a charged space of references, counterpoints, and endless possibilities. From different angles, movement and sound interact to reveal the obvious yet often overlooked ways people come together, drift apart, push, pull, question, and resolutely move forward.

18 & 19 May – Kwai Tsing Theatre – Details here

Beautiful Harmony – Piano and Flute Duo by Niu Niu and Cocomi

Internationally renowned pianist Niu Niu and rising star flautist Cocomi will weave melodies together and present a captivating performance. With Niu Niu’s masterful interpretations of the piano, and Cocomi’s sensational touch on the flute, Beautiful Harmony will take the audience on an extraordinary musical journey, immersing them in a world of captivating melodies and the sublime beauty of poetry.

30 May – 8pm – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts – Details here

Noir & Blanc – A Story of Photography

Co-presented by M+ and the French May Arts Festival, in collaboration with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), the exhibition includes more than 250 significant photographs from BnF’s world-renowned collection of photography, complemented by over thirty works drawn from the M+ Collections, examining black-and-white photography.

Until 30 June – M+ – Details here

Le Siffleur

Comedian, musician, and uncanny whistling talent Fred Radix will bring offbeat humour and jaw-dropping musicianship for his Hong Kong debut. He will perform a sweeping canon of beloved classics, from Bizet to Mozart to Singing in the Rain. He will charm you into whistling along through his masterful music, tap-dancing, and storytelling. Funny, fresh, relevant and impertinent!

15 & 16 June – Sheung Wan Civic Centre – Details here

The Two Sides of Thierry Maillard

Expose yourself to the vibrant world of jazz with two exhilarating concerts. The first concert will take you on a voyage back to the best of times. The chanson-style concert combines Maillard’s melodic expertise with his modern yet melancholic compositions.

The second concert is a tribute to the music of the seventies and eighties, which gave pride of place to electronic synthesisers and analogue keyboards.

14 & 15 June – Hong Kong City Hall – Details here

Möbius in May

Möbius in May is an extract from Compagnie XY’s fifth production Möbius, created in collaboration with choreographer Rachid Ouramdane.

In channelling the movements of birds, Compagnie XY places the circus act in a continuum of movement, a chain reaction in which individuals can reverse, upset, and swing about without having to disrupt or oppose one another.

11 – 19 May – Parade Ground, Tai Kwun – Details here

Pas de Deux à Hong Kong 

Hong Kong theatre director and playwright Wu Ho Fai leads a young creative team to reexamine the place where he grew up from the perspective of French Hong Kong residents. His quest leads too many questions: What exactly does it mean to be ‘French’? When does one become a Hongkonger? What happens when France meets Hong Kong? The answers unfold in this French–Hong Kong love letter addressed to every person who has called Hong Kong home.

31 May & 1 June – Sheung Wan Civic Centre – Details here

All programmes of the French May Arts Festival 2024 can be found here: www.frenchmay.com