RECREATION AND THE ARTS
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In May, a Hong Kong-Japan cultural week was organised featuring art songs, choral and instrumental music, folk songs and dance, and traditional lyrical singing. Japanese and local artistes took part in a series of six concerts. There were also two exhibitions – one on Japanese photography and the other on Japanese arts and crafts.
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre were established in 1977 under the direct finance and management of the Urban Council. In 1979 a total of 39 concerts, including eight school concerts, were given by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra under the baton of Ng Tai-kong, the orchestra's musical director, and other guest conductors. The orchestra has 50 full-time and 25 part-time musicians.
The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre gave 56 performances in Cantonese of both Chinese and Western plays. It has 10 full-time actors, though additional artistes and supporting staff are engaged on a freelance basis for each production.
Many films presented by the Urban Council and local and international cultural organ- isations were shown at the City Hall during the year. They included a regular series of French and German films, a Japanese film festival, a 35 mm French film festival, an independent short films festival, and a retrospect of Japanese films.
The Third Hong Kong International Film Festival, sponsored by the Urban Council, took place at the City Hall from June 25 to July 8. This non-competitive festival attracted more than 30,000 people. Another 30,000 people visited two festival exhibitions. The festival included 22 features from Europe and the United States, 19 features from Asia, and 10 documentaries and 26 films produced in Hong Kong.
Two other major exhibitions staged by the Urban Council in 1979 were the Solar Energy Application Exhibition, organised jointly with the American Consulate General, and the 34th Hong Kong International Salon of Photography, presented jointly with the Photo- graphic Society of Hong Kong.
Festival of Asian Arts
The Fourth Festival of Asian Arts was held in Hong Kong for 16 days from October to November. This major presentation by the Urban Council attracted more than 360 partici- pants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey. They were joined by almost 2,000 performers from Hong Kong. A total of 133 events were staged at the City Hall and at various outdoor venues on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. Five exhibitions were also held featuring cybernetic sculpture, Chinese antiquities, Japanese art, Hong Kong modern art and Indian musical instruments.
Hong Kong Arts Festival
To mark the opening of the 1979 Hong Kong Arts Festival in February, a highly successful outdoor 'pop' concert was organised by the Government Information Services. Coinciding with Chinese New Year celebrations, the concert attracted thousands of young people. It was held in Edinburgh Place, outside the City Hall.
On the same night, in sharp contrast, was the elegant performance inside City Hall by Sweden's Cullberg Ballet. The ballet was the first international event in the annual, month- long arts festival. While the festival continued to enjoy capacity audiences comprising residents and overseas visitors, there was a marked increase in the number of subsidised tickets available for students. About one-quarter of all tickets were allocated to the student population.