RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
The company was invited to perform at the opening season of the new Shanghai Centre Theatre in September. Apart from Illuminations, the company also performed Concerto Barocco.
For the Asian Arts Festival in October, the Hong Kong Ballet undertook five very ambitious works, Unknown Territory and Pas de Trois from Pastoral Sketches, both by Choo San Goh, Sfumato by Betsy Erickson, Pavane choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, produced by Monica Parker, and Three Dances to Japanese Music by Jack Carter.
Rounding off a busy year, the ballet presented the ever-popular The Nutcracker at Christmas.
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts continues to develop as a tertiary educa- tional institution providing conservatoire training for young people seeking professional careers in dance, drama, music and the technical arts. Demand for places on all its courses increased significantly over the previous year. In 1990-91, there were 393 students on full-time courses, 560 students in the Junior Department (Dance and Music) and 900 part-time students. A small number of overseas students was recruited to complement the mainly local in-take, underlining the academy's commitment to becoming an institu- tion of the highest international standards.
The introduction of the postgraduate Opera Course in the School of Music was a major development in 1990. Work began on the first production of this course which will include performances of Puccini's La Boheme with an Italian conductor and English director.
The School of Music continued to expand its concert activities. A series of Monday lunchtime concerts was introduced in March. Radio Television Hong Kong presented a series of radio programmes called Music from the Academy featuring performances by students and staff. In July, the Junior Chamber Orchestra, comprising 22 players aged 14 to 18, gave six public concerts during a tour of France, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and attended a summer school at the Luxembourg conservatoire. The academy also mounted four concerts for schools in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, each attended by over 1 000 school children. An Electronic Music Studio, opened in September by Lady Wilson, was a major addition to the academy's facilities.
The Drama School followed its musical success of the previous year - Grease – with a production in December of a Cantonese version of the award-winning Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Other productions from the Drama School during the year included Arthur Miller's The Crucible, The Fifth of July by Landford Wilson and Terra Nova by Ted Tully.
The School of Dance staged its most ambitious project in June - Fragrant Harbour, comprising five choreographic studies of the past, present and future of Hong Kong. The production provided an exciting challenge for the Technical Arts students it was repeated during the Fifth International Festival of Dance Academies held at the academy during July, which was attended by over 500 dance students and teachers from 15 countries.
The School of Technical Arts provided creative input and technical support for all the academy's theatrical productions, from full-scale musicals to studio dramas, providing opportunities for students in all areas of theatrical design - sets, costume, lighting and sound - to develop their creative talents before public audiences.
321
Page 375Page 376