The Butterfly Lovers: Hong Kong Ballet makes the old new

Ma Renjie and Hong Kong Ballet in The Butterfly Lovers

Hong Kong Ballet in Hu Song Wei Ricky's The Butterfly Lovers

Xuan Cheng (middle) and Hong Kong Ballet in Hu Song Wei Ricky's The Butterfly Lovers

Xuan Cheng (middle) and Hong Kong Ballet in The Butterfly Lovers

Ma Renjie and Xuan Cheng in The Butterfly Lovers

Ma Renjie and Hong Kong Ballet in The Butterfly Lovers

By Carla Escoda, 25 August 2025

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“Hong Kong Ballet has found a way to tell a time-honored story with modern-day convictions”

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: David H Koch Theater, New York City on 22 August 2025

The Butterfly Lovers (Hu Song Wei Ricky, Mai Jingwen)

Hong Kong Ballet

Lio Kuokman, Conductor

Tim Yip, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Tsz Yan Yeung, Lighting Designer

New York City Ballet Orchestra

Renjie Ma, Dancer

Xuan Cheng, Dancer

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Megan Fairchild pours her heart into her final performances of Coppélia at New York City Ballet.

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Good vibrations: Robbins, Balanchine and Bach at New York City Ballet

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Concerto Barocco and The Goldberg Variations make an unbeatable, timeless pairing at New York City Ballet.

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Tiler Peck’s Symphonie Espagnole for NYCB is sprawling and ambitious

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A triple bill including Tiler Peck’s newest ballet for NYCB, does not entirely work. Too much blue light and sadness for one program.

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Contemporary escapism at New York City Ballet

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A longtime NYCB fan favorite, Concerto DSCH by Alexei Ratmansky, meets the New York premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Continuum. But the evening belonged to corps dancer Ruby Lister in Edwaard Liang’s Distant Cries.

****1

Mira Nadon’s sparkling debut in Firebird with New York City Ballet

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American Ballet Theatre's double bill is short and sweet in New York

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American Ballet Theatre presents Balanchine's Raymonda: Grand Pas Hongrois and Ratmansky's Firebird which showcases the company well and provides a strong contrast.

****1

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Carla Escoda

Born in the Philippines, Carla trained as a ballet and modern dancer with the Alice Reyes Dance Company in Manila. She has lived and worked in Asia and the U.S. and has written about the arts for Bachtrack, KQED (the northern California public media broadcaster), Dance International, dance journal/hk, the Huffington Post, Dance Europe and ballettothepeople.