Until December 30
Prepare for a veritable blizzard of confetti, giant balloons and other sundry items to rain down on stage, and onto much of the audience as part of the magical, even surreal, spectacle conjured by veteran Russian clown Slava Polunin at the HKAPA’s Lyric Theatre. Slava’s Snowshow will be staged every day (except for Mondays) through to December 30. The evening performances commence at 7:30pm while the weekend matinees will get going at 2:30pm. Tickets are $490 to $290 for regular weekday performances and $590 to $390 for weekend and public holiday shows from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

December 14-16
The Kawasemi-za puppet ensemble founded by Yoshiya Yamamoto in 1982 first ventured out of its native land to perform in 1986. In the little more than three decades since, the puppet troupe, whose name refers to an ancient Japanese poem about a beautiful bird, has staged shows in places as far afield as Iran, Hungary, the USA and Morocco. This December, Hong Kong will be treated to excerpts from two of the ensemble’s silent productions, Silent Poems and Where Spirits and Fairies Dwell. The December 14 and 15 performances will take place at the HK Cultural Centre’s Studio Theatre while the Sha Tin Town Hall’s Cultural Activities Hall will be the venue for the Sunday, December 16, presentation. Evening shows commence at 8pm while the Saturday, December 15, matinee begins at 3pm. Tickets are $180 for the HK Cultural Centre shows but $160 and $120 for the Sha Tin Town Hall show from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 14-26
What’s Christmas without The Nutcracker? Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky composed this fairy-tale ballet just over a century ago but, for many families, attending a performance of this popular production has become as much of a Yuletide tradition as, well, opening up presents on the morning of Christ’s birthday or attending mass at the local church! The HK Ballet, backed by the HK Sinfonietta, will be staging the two-act ballet about the Nutcracker Prince’s battle with the Mouse King and the German girl who decides the winner at the HK Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre from December 14 to 26. Evening performances begin at 7:30pm on December 14 and 15, 18-20 and 22-25 while the matinees on December 15 and 16, 22 and 23, and 25 and 26 are set to commence at 2:30pm. Tickets are priced at $550 to $150 fromURBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 21 and 23
She was a soloist at the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer that was broadcast live all over the globe. She has also performed at leading opera houses throughout the world and at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. And on December 21 and 23, the celebrated soprano from New Zealand, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, will join the HK Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Julian Reynolds in A Gala Evening with Kiri Te Kanawa at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. The concerts begin at 8pm. Tickets are $880 to $180 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 21-January 5
If you think you’ve already seen a lot of megastar Andy Lau in his frequent advertising appearances, you ain’t seen nothing yet... at least not before the final month of 2007. For not only will Peter Chan’s The Warlords, starring Wah Jai, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro open in local theatres on December 13 but, also, from December 21 to January 5, the showman supreme will be holding court every evening at the HK Coliseum. Showtime for the Ma Belle Leo Brilliance Andy Lau Wonderful World Concert 2007 is 8:15pm for all performances except for Monday, December 31, when the concert starts at 9:30pm. Tickets – if you can get them – are $480 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 25-27
Most of us have played with food at some point in our lives but surely only The Vegetable Orchestra can lay claim to doing so professionally as musicians! The one-of-a-kind musical ensemble from Vienna uses fresh vegetables – think carrot recorders, leek violins and pepper trumpets! – as its music-making instruments of choice. Don’t believe us? Then check out any one of the Vegetables for Concert & Soup performances from December 25 to 27! Showtime is at 8pm at the Yuen Long Theatre’s Auditorium on Tuesday, December 25, and at the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall on the two evenings thereafter. Tickets are $200 to $140 for the Christmas day concert but $220 and $170 for the shows on December 26 and 27, all from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 28-30
Looking at the calendar of events for a variety of performing arts venues, it can seem like a Chinese opera performance
is scheduled for every day of the year.
On the other hand, it’s pretty rare for a Chinese opera to boast both English and Chinese subtitles. That the Three Stylistic Schools of Peking Opera does is a clue
that this show is something special, and, indeed, its selection of Chinese operatic classics is a major showcase for the Xi, Ma and Tang schools. The December 28-30 performances at the HK Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre are scheduled to begin at 8pm. Tickets are $340 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 29 and 30
Enigmatic characters, sometimes real, sometimes projected, with secret emotions and hidden histories populate the dreamscape of La Fin des Terres (Lands End), Philippe Genty’s kaleidoscopic masterpiece of contemporary visual theatre. Using magical tricks involving perspective, distortion and movement together with puppets of varying sizes, the master illusionist and his Compagnie Philippe Genty evoke fitting demonstrations of their boundless imagination and abilities. The Kwai Tsing Theatre’s Auditorium will be the venue for three presentations on December 29 and 30. The two evening performances are set to begin at 7:30pm while the Sunday, December 30, matinee is due to commence at 3pm. Tickets cost $240 to $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 30-January 1
Send 2007 out with a kick and get 2008 going with a triple somersault at a performance (or all three) by the multi-award-winning Hebei Acrobatic Troupe of China. Boasting a programme of acts with intriguing titles like Water Meteors, Strap Gymnastics and Foot Juggling with Kids(!), The Showcase of Splendid Acrobatics comes courtesy of the Leisure & Cultural Services Department’s (LCSD) Cheers! series. Showtime is at 7:30pm at the Tuen Mun Town Hall’s Auditorium on Sunday, December 30, the Yuen Long Theatre’s Auditorium on Monday, December 31, and the Kwai Tsing Theatre’s Auditorium on Tuesday, January 1. Tickets for the December performances are $160 to $90 but $180 to $100 for the New Year’s day show, all from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Monday, December 31
Precise details are still to be confirmed for the LCSD-organised New Year’s Eve Countdown Carnival 2007 at the time of writing. However, we can’t help but be intrigued by the promise that the event will be “[a]n artistic & athletic manifestation of elegance & energy”. So if you feel elegant and energetic as the old year wanes, make a beeline to Sha Tin Park on New Year’s Eve between 8:30am and this free carnival’s close at 12:30am the next day. Alternatively, call the LCSD’s enquiries line at 2591 1340 closer to carnival day for further information.

This year the HK Tourism Board is hoping to rank our city’s New Year celebrations up there with those in New York’s Times Square and at the Eiffel Tower. Chairman James Tien Pei-Chun recently highlighted how he intends to do that: $3 million has been spent on a show that will feature fireworks and the popular multimedia show A Symphony of Lights 20 minutes before midnight. Then with 20 seconds to go, Two IFC will act as a giant countdown with fireworks exploding down its length every second. Following that, more fireworks will shoot from the roofs of 15 surrounding skyscrapers and well-known landmarks for the first two minutes of 2008. It is all shaping up very nicely and Tien expects no fewer than 400,000 spectators to gather on either side of the harbour…