XN000022-1984-04-17 — Page 8

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1984

LADY YOUDE MEETS SCHOOL DANCERS

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LADY YOUDE. GUEST OF HONOUR AT THE OPENING OF THE 20TH SCHOOLS DANCE FESTIVAL AND PRIZE-WINNERS PERFORMANCE AT THE CITY HALL, THIS (TUESDAY) EVENING PRESENTED PRIZES TO THE ELEVEN WINNING SCHOOLS.

OVERALL CHAMPIONS AT THE FESTIVAL WERE BISHOP HALL JUBILEE SCHOOL (SECONDARY SECTION) AND ST. PAUL'S CONVENT SCHOOL (PRIMARY).

SPEAKING AT THE FUNCTION, THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION,

MR COLVYN HAYE, SAID THE SCHOOLS DANCE TEAMS, FORMED FROM THE BEST DANCERS OF THE SCHOOLS DANCE FESTIVALS EACH YEAR, HAD REPRESENTED HONG KONG OVERSEAS ON MANY OCCASIONS AND HAD BEEN ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL AS CULTURAL AMBASSADORS.

THESE OCCASIONS INCLUDED THE EXPO' 70 IN JAPAN, THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF YOUTH ORCHESTRAS 1976, THE QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS IN BRITAIN 1977, THE COMMONWEALTH CARNIVAL, EDMONTON, CANADA 1978, THE COMMONWEALTH FILM AND TELEVISIÓN FESTIVAL IN CYPRUS AND THE ISRAEL ARTS FESTIVAL, 1980- AND HONG KONG/MACAU SCHOOL DANCE PERFORMANCES, IN MACAU, 1981 AND 1982.

MR HAYE SAID WHEN THE FESTIVAL STARTED IN 1965, ONLY 240 CHILDREN FROM 24 SCHOOLS TOOK PART. BUT THIS YEAR 3 867 CHILDREN FROM 280 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TOOK PART IN FOUR CATEGORIES OF EVENTS - WESTERN FOLK AND NATIONAL DANCE, CHINESE DANCE, ORIENTAL DANCE AND CREATIVE DANCE.

+THIS REMARKABLE GROWTH IS, I THINK, A SPLENDID TRIBUTE TO THE DEDICATION AND CREATIVE TALENT OF SUCCESSIVE PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANISERS, MR HAYE SAID.

SEVEN PRIZE-WINNERS PERFORMANCES ARE BEING HELD BETWEEN APRIL 17 AND 28 THIS YEAR SIX IN THE CITY HALL AND ONE IN THE TSUEN WAN TOWN HALL.

THE EVENTS ARE JOINTLY ORGANISED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT THE URBAN COUNCIL, THE CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT (NEW TERRITORIES DIVISION), THE HONG KONG SCHOOLS SPORTS COUNCIL, THE HONG KONG SCHOOLS SPORTS ASSOCIATION AND THE NEW TERRITORIES SCHOOL SPORTS ASSOCIATION.

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