Hong Kong Ballet’s 45th-anniversary transforms ballet for the masses

Hong Kong – Hong Kong Ballet is celebrating its 45th anniversary with an innovative campaign by Design Army and Dean Alexander Productions. The campaign redefines ballet, transforming it from a symbol of privilege to a universal cultural experience. 

Inspired by Degas’ ballerina portraits, renaissance art and artistic hip-hop, the film captures ballet as a universal language, connecting everyone, even aliens, to its magical essence. The troupe performs in vibrant settings across Hong Kong, including university halls, Tai Kwun’s plaza, and High Island Reservoir, making ballet joyfully unconventional. 

The campaign features eye-popping colours, gravity-defying moves, and koi fish-inspired hairdos, alongside punk rockers en pointe and an alien in a tutu. Design Army played with graphic scales, textures, sounds and music, from Johann Strauss’ The Blue Danube to hip-hop. 

Back in 2019, in our Generation Z are driving an arts revolution report, we forecast the rise of Ballet Rebranded by highlighting how Hong Kong Ballet was already merging formal dancing and hip-hop to reach new audiences. For more insights on Gen Z, head to our Gen Z Now and Next: From Vision to Contradiction macrotrend report.