ENG-2001 — Page 476

RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

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summer vacation, the company organised seven theatre education day camps for 268 students.

Three performing arts companies Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Dance Company and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre were corporatised in April after formerly being under the direct management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The objective of this change is to give the companies greater autonomy in their pursuit of artistic vision and greater administrative flexibility, and to encourage more involvement from various sectors of the community in their management and support.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

The Hong Kong Sinfonietta had a busy programme in 2001. For example, the orchestra was invited to perform at the Saint-Riquier Festival in France. Other highlights of the year included concerts with renowned pianist Fou Ts'ong, pianist Gary Graffman, violinist David Garrett and violinist Elisabeth Batiashvili, and accompaniment for the famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti's concert, the Stuttgart Ballet's Taming of the Shrew and the Hong Kong Ballet's work Mulan. In November, the orchestra participated in Radio Television Hong Kong's Operation Santa Claus. Being an orchestra with a strong local base, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta continued to present special outreach concerts, including Ann's World of Music (for children), Orchestra on Campus (for university students) and Short-cut to Classical Music (for adults).

Ming Ri Theatre Company

The Ming Ri Theatre Company is the first professional drama troupe in Hong Kong to present programmes designed to appeal to children and family audiences. It has staged over 50 children's plays. Performances in 2001 included Playing with Klee involving artists from Hong Kong, the Mainland and the United States, and Mo Mo the Witch and The Red Imp, which were aimed mainly at student audiences. The company was invited to perform The Legend of HK, a work that incorporates modern shadow play techniques, in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

With sponsorship from the Government's Quality Education Fund, the company implemented a number of arts education programmes designed for primary and pre- school teachers and students. Projects of this nature included Teachers Training in Active and Creative Teaching Approach, Puppetry Training for Kindergarten Teachers and The Magic Paintbrush: Interactive Drama Workshops in Shadow Play.

Zuni Icosahedron

As a multimedia experimental theatre, Zuni continued to explore new horizons, and created three original productions during the year: The Life and Times of Louis I. Kahn; Chronicle of Women Illness as Metaphor and MonoFest a series of solo performances. To cultivate and popularise experimental arts and culture locally, the group launched three large projects, Multimedia Experimental Arts Youth Festival; House of Thoughts Multimedia Theatre-in-Education Project and Cattle Depot College. Twenty schools and more than 4 000 individuals participated in these programmes. The group continues to advocate international cultural exchange, and has organised and participated in more than 30 international cultural events in recent years, including the Asia Arts Net and the City-to-City Cultural Exchange Conference.