After the Festival ── Insights for Hong Kong’s Dance Sector from the 1st City Contemporary Dance Festival (CCDF)

In his 1999 publication, British scholar John Tomlinson described the relationship between globalisation and culture as, ‘Globalisation lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural practices lie at the heart of globalisation.’ As a matter of fact, globalisation has developed out of local culture where globalisation begins only for the seepage of its immense influence. Prominent and much-discussed examples are McDonaldisation and Starbuckisation, among others. Subsequently, due to commercisalisation, capitalism and cultural specificity, globalisation fuses with local culture and engenders ‘glocalisation’. ‘In the marketing context, glocalisation means the creation of products or services for hte global market by adapting them to local cultures.’ There is a shift to emphasise the heterogeneity in homogeneity, and to innovate out of hybridity. While the impact of globalisation has lasted in many parts of the world, glocalisation is gradually taking over as the new trend of contemporary culture, drawing considerable attention. Apart from the international, large-scale integrated art festivals (Hong Kong example being the Hong Kong Arts Festival), there is a rising trend is for festivals to underline their heterogeneity by focusing on the promotion of local artists and their works, which are inevitably being graded and compared with those taking place in nearby countries and cities. Comparison and competition are not necessarily negative. It would be beneficial if we learn and put one to the test through exchanges, from which practitioners discover space for multi-dimensional thinking and innovation and development opportunities.