RECREATION AND THE ARTS
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scholarships totalling $4.28 million had been paid from the fund. Forty-one scholarships have so far enabled young Hong Kong people to study music and dance at home or abroad. About 500 grants have been given for a variety of related purposes including the purchase of musical instruments and the staging of special events.
Festival of Asian Arts
The Urban Council's Festival of Asian Arts has become a major cultural event in Asia. The Seventh Festival of Asian Arts, held for 17 days in October, presented a total of 153 performances by artistes from Sri Lanka, Korea, Pakistan, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, India and Bhutan, as well as
by local groups.
Although most performances were indoor programmes staged at the City Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, 70 others were performed at various outdoor venues. Exhibitions on sculpture from Thailand and Japanese contemporary pottery were held as part of the festival. Altogether, the festival attracted over 250 000 people.
Hong Kong Arts Festival
During the month-long 1982 Arts Festival, Hong Kong audiences enjoyed a variety of performances by international and local artistes. The festival opened and closed with performances by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Maxim Shostakovich. More orchestral music was provided by the Cleveland Orchestra and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Chamber music and recitals included performances by baritone Benjamin Luxon; the Gabrieli String Quartet; and two young Brazilian guitarists, Sergio and Odair Assad. At the other end of the musical spectrum, British jazz entertainer George Melly gave four performances with John Chilton's Feetwarmers.
Equally varied were the festival's theatrical performances by the Cambridge Theatre Company, the Moving Picture Mime Show, the Compagnie Philippe Genty (Puppet Theatre), Judi Dench and Michael Williams, and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. Hong Kong's own music and arts groups made their usual contribution to the festival with a Radio Television Hong Kong opera production, an Opera Rara play and music by Hong Kong composers. Local ballet added to dance performances by Joffrey II from the USA and the Dance Troupe of the Shanghai Opera House.
For the first time, a Children's Festival was included in the programme, offering a wide range of activities aimed at audience participation.
New Territories' Arts Festivals
The Fourth Tsuen Wan Arts Festival, organised by the Cultural Services Department, the Tsuen Wan District Board, the Tsuen Wan Culture and Recreation Co-ordinating Associa- tion, and the Music Office, was held early in the year. Sixteen outdoor shows and 39 indoor programmes were staged, including a variety of performances by local and overseas artistes. The Second Yuen Long Arts Festival was held in February. Some 30 000 people attended the 24 events given by overseas and local performers at the Lut Sau Hall, Yuen Long Town Hall and other venues. The festival was jointly presented by the Yuen Long District Board, the Yuen Long District Arts Committee and the Cultural Services Department.
The Sha Tin Arts Fortnight held from late December 1981 to early January 1982 was the district's first arts festival. It was jointly presented by the Cultural Services Department, the Sha Tin District Board, the Sha Tin Arts Association and the Music Office. Some 30 000 people attended over 40 concerts, exhibitions, and dance and opera