Ballet inspired by Hong Kong kung fu legend Bruce Lee set for global spotlight
Marketing expert Colleen Yu says the city needs ‘structured and tailored storytelling for each type of fan’ to boost cultural tourism
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Wynna Wong
Published: 2:58pm, 1 Sep 2025Updated: 5:59pm, 1 Sep 2025 The Hong Kong Ballet will launch a new performance inspired by local kung fu legend Bruce Lee and present it on the global stage, the leading dance company has revealed, as part of the city’s efforts to share “authentic” cultural stories with the world.
Septime Webre, artistic director of the Hong Kong Ballet, highlighted the plan during a panel discussion on Monday at the Redefining Hong Kong conference on Culture, Sports and Tourism, hosted by the South China Morning Post.
“This is the kind of thing where we got a great idea that is quite Hong Kong – it’s a Hong Kong story, but also an international story, and it can become bigger with our relatively limited artistic funds by bringing in many, many partners,” he said.
He said that the company was currently in talks to sign memorandums of understanding with presenters or co-commissioners from around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, London and Paris.
Webre also told the Post that the company’s three male principal dancers were expected to take turns playing the role of the late kung fu star, while there were plans to invite Hong Kong martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan to portray Ip Man – Lee’s wing chun master.
There were also discussions to invite New York Ballet principal dancer Chan Chun-wai to play a role. The artistic director is known for integrating local context into Western art forms, including a local version of Romeo and Juliet, which is set in Hong Kong during the 1960s. [IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“src”:“https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2025/09/01/3d4fc23f-76ab-4f84-aa9b-339fb6e2f6b8_d334513d.jpg”}[/IMG2] Septime Webre says the company is in talks to sign memorandums of understanding. Photo: Dickson Lee
The announcement came as panel speakers, including Hong Kong Disneyland chief financial officer Lesz Banham and Live Nation Connects chief marketing officer Colleen Yu, were asked to comment on how the city’s tourism could be redefined with narratives that reflect its authentic cultural heritage and modern identity.
Asked what was lacking in Hong Kong’s marketing strategy, Yu said the city required structured and tailored storytelling for each type of fan journey.
What would the type of music fan, she said, visiting Hong Kong to see top international acts such as rock band Coldplay, want to do while in the city?
“Obviously they have the spending power to fly all the way and come and pay for the ticket and all that,” she said.
“I do feel like there’s a lot going on in Hong Kong … But I feel like the industries or the sectors or the smaller players in local communities, they’re still not engaged enough or informed enough.
“Oftentimes I’m asked by my clients to tell them what the city calendar of events is. They might know about the mega-events but they don’t know how to participate.
“Maybe there’s a fan coming, but they don’t know how to actually engage with them and actually target them as part of the database.”
Asked whether the arts community was concerned about freedom of expression amid a rapidly changing political climate, Webre said he had “never felt any pressure to present anything other than good work”.
“The ballet language, even when we’re telling stories, is best at describing human emotional experiences,” he said, referencing a quote by George Balanchine, an influential 20th-century choreographer, that “there are no mothers-in-law in ballet”.
He added that the best way to “dispel misconceptions” about Hong Kong was to continue telling its positive stories and show that it was “a great, amazing city with great food”.
Wynna Wong
Wynna joined the SCMP in 2023 after nearly a decade as a reporter and anchor at various TV newsrooms. She specialises in Hong Kong macroeconomics, tourism and consumer trends, and holds an MA in journalism from Columbia University.
I’ve worked for Live Nation. Interesting…