Cover Maggie Choo’s Cabaret (Photo: courtesy of Maggie Choo’s)
Maggie Choo’s Cabaret (Photo: courtesy of Maggie Choo’s)
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Looking for artsy activities in the season of love? February has plenty of options: from cabaret shows over cocktails to concerts on Valentine’s Day
There is more to just candlelight dinners and picnic dates in the month of love. The arts and culture scene in Hong Kong this month has a lot of activities for those who would like to spend Valentine’s Day the romantic, fun or artsy way.
For a start, the cocktail and cabaret bar Maggie Choo’s will be staging an all-new cabaret show that features interactive performances, live music and dancing. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPhil) will stage a concert featuring the works of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, considered a seminal figure in Russian Romanticism, on February 14 and 15.
And for those who aren’t into celebrating Valentine’s Day, there are plenty of dance shows, exhibitions and concerts to fill your February calendar with.
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1. Maggie Choo’s Cabaret
Above Maggie Choo’s Cabaret (Photo: courtesy of Maggie Choo’s)
Maggie Choo’s Cabaret (Photo: courtesy of Maggie Choo’s)
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When: From late February
Where: Maggie Choo’s, G/F, Chinachem Hollywood Centre, Hollywood Road, Central
What: Central’s popular bar Maggie Choo’s will be debuting a new cabaret show this month that features performers in glamorous qipao dresses, Vietnamese songs, peacock decor and more. It comes with live jazz music and singing, spectacular costumes and exciting dancing—jazz, ballet, and classic cabaret—every Thursday, with more show days each week in March. Expect new cocktails on the menu.
2. Jaap | Rachmaninov 2
Above Esther Yoo (Photo: courtesy of the HKPhil)
Esther Yoo (Photo: courtesy of the HKPhil)
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When: February 14 and 15
Where: Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
What: Korean American violinist Esther Yoo joins HKPhil’s former artistic director Jaap van Zweden in a concert this month, where they will perform the seminal Russian composer Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2. They will also put on the Asia premiere of Hong Kong composer Raymond Yiu’s Violin Concerto, which pays homage to the life and legacy of violin soloist Ma Sicong, who in 1928 became the first person of Chinese descent to be accepted to the Paris Conservatory. Another celebrated violinist in her own right today, Yoo has performed as a soloist with some of the world’s most famous orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
3. Ichiko Aoba with HKPhil
Above Ichiko Aoba (Photo: Instagram/@ichikoaoba)
Ichiko Aoba (Photo: Instagram/@ichikoaoba)
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When: February 24
Where: Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, 88 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui
What: Award-winning Japanese folk singer and songwriter Ichiko Aoba is best known for her acoustic sounds and songwriting, which are inspired by her dreams. She shot to international fame in 2022 with a stunning performance alongside the UK’s 12 Ensemble at Milton Court Concert Hall in London.
Aoba will return to Hong Kong this month to perform pieces from her seventh album, Windswept Adan, with musicians from the HKPhil.
4. ‘Certain Movements and Shadows’
Above ‘Certain Movements and Shadows’ (Photo: courtesy of City Contemporary Dance Company)
‘Certain Movements and Shadows’ (Photo: courtesy of City Contemporary Dance Company)
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When: February 15, 21 and 22
Where: Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
What: Renowned Hong Kong choreographer Helen Lai, Taiwanese dance artist Chou Shu-yi and Hong Kong composer Oliver Cong collaborate on the dance piece Certain Movements and Shadows, in which the dancers use body movements to portray cityscapes described in the poems of Chinese American writer Bei Dou, who is one of the most celebrated Chinese-language writers today.
5. Great Piano Concertos: Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Beethoven
Above Pavel Kolesnikov (Photo: Instagram/@kolesnikovpianist)
Pavel Kolesnikov (Photo: Instagram/@kolesnikovpianist)
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When: February 22
Where: Hong Kong City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Plaza, Central
What: Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov, who won first prizes at several competitions including the Concours de Piano in Andorra in 2001 and the Gilels Piano Competition in Odessa in 2006, returns to Hong Kong this month to perform with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. The programme features Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4, Schumann’s Symphony No 3, Rhenish, and the world premiere of Hong Kong composer Hui Tak-cheung’s Remains For Those Remain.
6. Alicja Kwade: ‘Pretopia’
Above ‘Pretopia’ by Alicja Kwade (Photo: courtesy of Jimmy Ho and Tai Kwun)
‘Pretopia’ by Alicja Kwade (Photo: courtesy of Jimmy Ho and Tai Kwun)
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When: Alicja Kwade
Where: Tai Kwun Contemporary, 10 Hollywood Road, Central
What: Don’t miss the chance to see Berlin-based, Polish artist Alicja Kwade’s Pretopia, an exhibition that plays with the concept of the state preceding utopia. Inside the brightly lit, minimalistic space, one finds a clock turning in reverse, rocks floating in orbit as an installation, chairs anchored to the floor by rocks and flickering fluorescent tubes that give off disturbing buzzing sounds—all to bend visitors’ perception of space, time and the fluid understanding of utopia.
7. ‘Avant-Garde Now: Sensing Time’
Above ‘100 Years’ (2025) by Takashi Makino (Image: courtesy of the artist)
‘100 Years’ (2025) by Takashi Makino (Image: courtesy of the artist)
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When: February 15
Where: M+, West Kowloon
What: Ahead of M+’s Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival in May, the museum presents a series of analogue and digital screenings and performances at Avant-Garde Now: Sensing Time. These screenings are the fruits of the research and artistic experiments by four Asian artists or art groups—Takashi Makino (Japan), Raqs Media Collective (India), Morgan Wong (Hong Kong) and Tzuan Wu (Taiwan)—whose work focus on exploring the concept of time.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
