Hong Kong Dance Company’s Tribute to Bruce Lee

Kevin Ng December 10, 2025 18:00

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Hong Kong martial artist and movie star Bruce Lee, the Hong Kong Dance Company premiered last week at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre a new work “Kung Fu Artistry” choreographed and directed by Yang Yuntao, its artistic director. This production, which has acknowledged cooperation with the Bruce Lee Foundation, is also a highlight of this season which marks the 45th anniversary of the company.

“Kung Fu Artistry” is divided into three acts, and lasts for only 90 minutes including an interval. Brevity is always commendable. After all, there is no point in stretching a work to nearly 3 hours by adding unnecessary padding. This production is not intended by Yang Yuntao to be a straightforward narrative of the colourful life of Bruce Lee, who died in 1973 when aged only 32. The three acts only choose to depict some of the highlights of his career as a kung fu and film star, without dwelling much on his personal life.

Act 1 is about Lee’s youth, and shows him learning martial arts as well as ballroom dancing. The third scene depicts shows him teaching in the martial arts school that he had opened after moving to America. Act 2 shows him developing and refining his particular school of martial arts - Jeet Kune Do. His wife Linda only appears briefly in a scene in his study at home. It is a pity that there is not even a romantic duet which could have added some warmth and passion to this gloomy production. The last part, which is too long, ends with an exciting solo by Lee.

After the interval, Act 3 depicts his worldwide fame as a movie star with photos of some of his films projected on a large screen, as well as extracts of his letters to his wife. And the epilogue, entitled “The Legend”, celebrates the continuation of his enduring legacy. Lee was seen dancing with the ensemble in a rousing showbiz style finale which was warmly applauded by the audience.

Overall this new production’s portrayal of Bruce Lee is superficial and lacks drama. Lee comes across as a rather distant figure, and little is revealed about him as a real person except from the extracts of his letters. The choreography is competent, though occasionally repetitive.

As Bruce Lee, Ong Tze Shen deserved high praise for his dazzling and exciting dancing. The Hong Kong Dance Company provided strong supporting performances. Praise is also due to the jazz composer Patrick Lui for his music score, which was well performed by a band on stage.

Turning to the music scene, one of the most celebrated Hong Kong young artists today is Aristo Sham, who has won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition this year. In late November, the opening concert of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia from Rome at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre had the bonus of featuring this newsworthy pianist.

Aristo Sham performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. His dazzling virtuosity sparkled in the first movement, coupled with a sweetness of tone. In the second movement Sham was very stately. In the final movement, his virtuosity was again breathtaking.

The conductor was Daniel Harding, the orchestra’s Music Director. The concert opened with Verdi’s Overture to “The Sicilian Vespers”. The strong brass section of the orchestra left a deep impression. Harding conducted in the second half Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 which lasted for nearly an hour. The strings of this Italian orchestra could not match the richness of orchestral colours of the Russian orchestras. Nevertheless it was still an impressive performance. The turbulent first movement was sometimes painful to listen to. The second movement was delightful. After the sweet third movement, the final movement ended in a blaze of glory.

Photo – courtesy of HK Dance Company

Kevin Ng

veteran dance critic