Outlandish campaign takes ballet to another level

The Hong Kong Ballet wanted to pull out the stops and make an impact to mark its 45th anniversary. It's achieved that with an outlandish campaign the reimagines the classic art form, presenting ballet in a way we've never seen before.

A rollercoaster video mashup blends inspiration as diverse as Edgar Degas’ classic ballerina portraits and hip hop. There's a 'Tutu Academy', there are koi-inspired hairdos and punks... and there's a gold-toothed alien. All on a wild tour of Hong Kong. Giselle it is not.

Devised by Design Army, the video is intended to celebrate the universal language of dance in a way that's authentic to Hong Kong culture and that connects with everyone... yes, even extra terrestrials.

The 50+ ballet subjects Hong Kong to a tutu take-over, taking in its university halls, Tai Kwun’s plaza and High Island Reservoir. And they're pretty much unfazed when an alien shows up to join the troupe. The combination of gravity-defying dance, bold color and general weirdness is quite bizarre, but it's fresh and unconventional and captures the joy and expression of dance.

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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.