Hong Kong 2006 - Recreation, Sport and the Arts

Established in 1979, the Chung Ying Theatre Company is a non-profit-making leading professional theatre company in Hong Kong.

The company is committed to staging quality and lively shows to promote theatrical arts, explore cultural exchanges and to enrich cultural life. In 2006, Chung Ying introduced a number of works to the audience, including an adaptation from a famous Chinese novel, Modern Journey to the West, an original farce, The Last Bet of My Dead Aunt, a family show, Music Factory, a true story about a village school, The School & I, and Victor Hugo's masterpiece Les Misérables. During the year, the company organised an innovative language-enhancing programme, called Chung Ying Educational Theatre Cruise, which offered training in different languages on board a ferry. The company also organised two school touring projects which carried the Centennial Celebration of Chinese Drama and environmental protection theme.

The City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) was established in 1979. It is a professional modern dance company that nurtures the best talent to create dance in the context of modern China. In 2006, the company produced two mixed bills — Iron and Silk and Feng Shui, as well as two new full lengths, Nijinsky and Testimony. Besides taking part in the annual Guangdong Modern Dance Festival, the company was invited to perform in the Novel Hall in Taipei. The CCDC Dance Centre offered a great variety of dance courses to the public and developed new audiences through its outreach programmes.

A new chapter opened for Hong Kong Ballet in July 2006 with the appointment of a new Artistic Director John Meehan, former ballet star and artistic director of American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. In the same year, the company rolled out two new productions, Suzie Wong which was premièred in March and restaged in November, and Balanchine and Beyond, premièred in October; and four revivals: Classics and Beyond, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Nutcracker.

The company also invited internationally renowned ballerina Merrill Ashley to Hong Kong to stage Balanchine ballets. During her stay, Merrill conducted a master class and an evening presentation for the public, which was received enthusiastically. The company was also invited to take part in the 1st Asia Pacific Ballet Festival held in Seoul, Korea, in November.

Apart from mainstream productions, the company's Education and Outreach Department organised various activities including an Artist in Residence Scheme, A Multi-media Dance Education Project — Le Spectre De La Rose, Making Dances and Holiday Ballet courses.

Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) was incorporated as a non-profit-making organisation in 2001. It is now the only professional, full-scale Chinese orchestra in Hong Kong. Under Artistic Director Yan Huichang, the 85-member orchestra has gained international recognition.

The HKCO has its roots in Chinese tradition and has thrived on its musical arts, but it is also constantly trying to combine the musical arts of the East and the West. During the year, the orchestra organised the 'Cadenza of Hong Kong' project. Two concert series, An East-West Crossover and Music from the Heart, were presented to showcase works by composers around the world.

During the year, the orchestra gave more than 150 performances. Overseas tours to Australia, New Zealand and London have strengthened the orchestra's image as a cultural ambassador for Hong Kong. Furthermore, the orchestra has continued its work in arts education through the Hong Kong Children Chinese Orchestra, the Junior Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, instrumental classes, as well as music educational projects carried out jointly with tertiary education institutions.

The Hong Kong Dance Company was established in 1981 and formally incorporated as a charitable and non-profit-making organisation in April 2001. The company is committed to promoting Chinese dance and dance drama in a unique Hong Kong style. Over the years, the company staged more than 100 performances by Mainland, overseas and local choreographers, and in 2006, it staged a total of 21 large-scale shows.

The company's '8/F Platform' programme launched in mid-2005 was well received and its productions were honoured at the Hong Kong Dance Award 2006. In 2006, there were 22 performances in the 8/F Platform series, attracting 2 000 dance fans.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2006, the company is poised to attain greater artistic goals.

With 90 full-time musicians, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, under Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Edo de Waart, has secured a reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Asia. The year has seen significant growth in both artistic quality and audience numbers, thanks to the continuation of Edo de Waart's cycle of Mahler symphonies (Nos. 2, 3 and 4) which received great critical acclaim, a week-long residency programme at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, performances in the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the New Vision Arts Festival, and a hugely successful free, open-air concert, Symphony Under the Stars, which attracted an audience of more than 16 000 people. The Robert H N Ho Family Foundation Orchestral Fellowships Scheme was launched in 2006. It offers a 10-month curriculum for up to 10 young Chinese string players to become professionals. The students will receive coaching and post-graduate training in the orchestra so that they may eventually join it as professionals.

Established in 1977 and incorporated in 2001 as an independent company and a registered non-profit-making organisation, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre is the largest professional theatre company of its kind in Hong Kong. The company stages its productions in Cantonese, with some selected productions in Putonghua. During the year, the company staged seven productions of different genres, and went on tour with Love in a Fallen City, performing in Toronto and New York, which was followed by a further six performances of the same production in the 'Meet in Beijing' Arts Festival held in Beijing. The company also took part in the first Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, United States, with an excerpt version of The Eccentricities of a Nightingale in September. As part of its outreach activities, the company offered touring performances to schools in Hong Kong and Macao, a four-week summer drama camp for secondary school students and theatre workshops and talks for youths and the community.

Founded in 1990 and turned professional in 1999, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is an orchestra formed by local musicians, with a mission to make orchestral music more accessible to the public. Led by Music Director Yip Wing-sie, the orchestra is known for its innovative programming, new commissions, collaboration with other art forms and interactive educational concerts. In 2006, the orchestra gave over 70 performances, including six concerts at the La Folle Journée festival in Tokyo. Other highlights included concerts with Pinchas Zukerman, Pascal Rogé, Benjamin Schmid, rising stars Mengla Huang, Alison Balsom and Freddy Kempf, the HKS McDull Music Project, as well as a collaboration with comedian Jim Chim at Hong Kong Coliseum.

Established in 1993 under the artistic direction of the co-founders and associate artistic directors Jim Chim and Olivia Yan, Theatre Ensemble has endeavoured to create physical theatre works that are creative and humorous.

In addition to the resident programme PIP Let's Play, the company organised various art educational activities which included Stage Reading Workshop, Sunday Theatre to which underprivileged children and their parents were invited to see the company's children theatre productions and Art Tour.

The company's major productions in 2006 included premières of L'empereur du Chant, Faust auf dem Klosett, Children Theatre productions Moon 7 1/2, Papa Alibaba, Man of la Tiger (6th run), and You Yuan which was invited by Taiwan to participate in the International Theatre Festival there.

Zuni Icosahedron is a multimedia experimental theatre group. Since its inception in 1982, it has played an important role in opening new frontiers for Hong Kong's cultural scene. It has been active in theatre productions as well as in the areas of arts education, arts criticism and arts policy research.

In 2006, Zuni produced and presented over 50 performances. Productions included 1587, a Year of No Significance (History Theatre), the Three-Letter Opera (Social Theatre series), The Outcast General (Experimenting China series), Hong Kong Style (Multimedia Architecture Music Theatre series). Zuni also continued to organise multimedia theatre workshops and joint-school performances for students.