Chung Ying Theatre

In 2002, the Chung Ying Theatre Company focused on development of its Playwrights' Theatre. Through its creative team, the company continued to participate in theatre-in-education, and promoted original plays including The Passage, Alive in the Mortuary, Cross-mopolitan and Men and Dog. In addition, a newly commissioned classic play, Hobson's Choice, was presented. A musical play, Eleven Cats, was the final performance of the season. A school tour entitled Lady, Son, the Hong Kong People was arranged in secondary schools.

City Contemporary Dance Company

The City Contemporary Dance Company is a modern dance company that endeavours to rally the best Chinese talents in creating dance in the contemporary context of China. In 2002, the company launched a Dance Season and presented five full-evening programmes including 365 Ways of Doing and Undoing Orientalism by its Artistic Director, Willy Tsao; Nine Songs by Helen Lai, Tan Dun and Tim Yip; The Tragedy of Mr O by Helen Lai; and two mixed bills by various choreographers. The company's Education and Outreach Department offers year-round comprehensive dance courses for both adults and children, and presents outdoor performances as part of its activities to reach out to the community.

The Fringe Club

The Fringe Club is located in a historic building in Central. It has two theatres, two art galleries, a Fotogalerie, a rehearsal studio, a pottery studio and showroom, a restaurant and some offices. Rent-free facilities are provided to performers and artists in an open-access format throughout the year. It also engages in the production of a diverse range of arts programmes in and outside Hong Kong.

    Every year, the Fringe Club mounts an open arts festival (CityFestival) which is an urban culture festival focusing on the multiplicities of a modern city. The 2002 CityFestival was held over three weeks in January/February. The programme featured stage performances, heritage drama re-enactment, exhibitions, live band performances, talks, workshops, and an outdoor arts fair. More than 150 groups and individual artists from Hong Kong and overseas took part in the festival, which attracted over 350 000 people.

Hong Kong Ballet

The Hong Kong Ballet welcomed 2002 with a re-run of Romeo and Juliet. The company produced three new works for the year, a new version of The Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia in addition to an innovative premiere of a 'Ballet Extravaganza' with original short works, The Rite of Spring, Tango Ballet Tango and Dreams of Tenderness and Solitude. The company's rock ballet, The White Snake, had its second run and Christmas was celebrated with the ever popular The Nutcracker.

    With the aim of increasing its audience base in the Pearl River Delta area, the company took its original production, Mu Lan, to cities in Guangdong Province in April. Altogether, the company produced 40 performances during the year, and its Education and Outreach Unit organised 11 projects to promote ballet in the community.

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra was incorporated as a non-profit-making company in April 2001. The orchestra is Hong Kong's only professional Chinese music orchestra. Under the leadership of former Music Directors and the current Music Director, it has registered notable achievements in promoting the development of Chinese orchestral music. During the year, it gave 33 regular public concerts and more than 50 outreach and special concerts. In February, the orchestra began its tour of Austria and Germany with a concert in the Goldener Saal of the renowned Musikverein of Vienna. In May, it visited the United States to perform at a function in Washington DC, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office there.

Hong Kong Dance Company

The Hong Kong Dance Company, founded in 1981, was incorporated as a non-profit-making organisation in April 2001. It is committed to promoting the art of Chinese dance in Hong Kong, and produces five productions each season. The company also organises outreach and educational events for the community at large, especially young people. In April, by special invitation, the company gave performances of The Butterfly Lovers at the Shanghai Grand Theatre to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Hong Kong's reunification with the Mainland.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, an 89-member ensemble, is the city's oldest and largest orchestra. It gave a total of 206 concerts during the year. The orchestra provides the community with classical music of an international standard, and inspires and cultivates creativity through its multi-faceted commissioning and music education programmes. As a cultural ambassador for Hong Kong, the orchestra has toured the Mainland, Macau, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Canada and the United States.

Hong Kong Repertory Theatre

Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre became an independent non-profit-making company in April 2001. During the year, the company staged seven productions of different genres involving 124 performances, including eight student performances. Apart from its major productions, the company toured 97 schools, organised seven summer camp classes for students and gave 19 demonstration workshops for the community.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta had a fruitful year in 2002. Highlights included the Vladimir Ashkenazy Gala concert, Fou Ts'ong Trilogy, 'Le French May' Festival concert with Laurent Korcia, a 'Christmas Special' with the Empire Brass, collaborations with musicians such as pianists Melvyn Tan and Mikhail Rudy and cellist Matthew Barley, and new commissions like Qu Xiao-song's The Stone. In addition, there were various productions on the education front.

Theatre Ensemble

Established in 1993, the Theatre Ensemble became one of the three-year grantees of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2002. Under the artistic direction of its co-founders, Jim Chim and Olivia Yan, it focuses on creating 'Physical Theatre' productions through the 'devising method.' Productions during the year included Moonshine, Of Fire and Fireworks (co-produced with the Prospects Theatre), Kid Kid Show and Aiyah!Superboy. Including other educational and outreach productions, the company gave a total of 170 performances.

Zuni Icosahedron

Zuni Icosahedron is a multimedia experimental theatre group. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Zuni created original productions including Sigmund Freud in Search of Chinese Matter and Mind, Looking For Mies, One Hundred Years of Solitude: 9 and Experimenting Traditional Chinese Opera — Solos. To cultivate and popularise experimental arts and culture locally, the group launched three projects: a cultural and arts magazine, a multimedia theatre-in-education project, and a series of talks and workshops. The group advocates international cultural exchanges, and has organised and participated in more than 35 international cultural events in recent years, including the 4th Asia Europe Meeting held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September.