ENG-2002 — Page 464

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RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

restaurant and some offices. Rent-free facilities are provided to performers and artists in an open-access format throughout the year. It also engages in the production of a diverse range of arts programmes in and outside Hong Kong.

Every year, the Fringe Club mounts an open arts festival (CityFestival) which is an urban culture festival focusing on the multiplicities of a modern city. The 2002 CityFestival was held over three weeks in January/February. The programme featured stage performances, heritage drama re-enactment, exhibitions, live band performances, talks, workshops, and an outdoor arts fair. More than 150 groups and individual artists from Hong Kong and overseas took part in the festival, which attracted over 350 000 people.

Hong Kong Ballet

The Hong Kong Ballet welcomed 2002 with a re-run of Romeo and Juliet. The company produced three new works for the year, a new version of The Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia in addition to an innovative premiere of a ‘Ballet Extravaganza' with original short works, The Rite of Spring, Tango Ballet Tango and Dreams of Tenderness and Solitude. The company's rock ballet, The White Snake, had its second run and Christmas was celebrated with the ever popular The Nutcracker.

With the aim of increasing its audience base in the Pearl River Delta area, the company took its original production, Mu Lan, to cities in Guangdong Province in April. Altogether, the company produced 40 performances during the year, and its Education and Outreach Unit organised 11 projects to promote ballet in the community.

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra was incorporated as a non- profit-making company in April 2001. The orchestra is Hong Kong's only professional Chinese music orchestra. Under the leadership of former Music Directors and the current Music Director, it has registered notable achievements in promoting the development of Chinese orchestral music. During the year, it gave 33 regular public concerts and more than 50 outreach and special concerts. In February, the orchestra began its tour of Austria and Germany with a concert in the Goldener Saal of the renowned Musikverein of Vienna. In May, it visited the United States to perform at a function in Washington DC, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office there.

Hong Kong Dance Company

The Hong Kong Dance Company, founded in 1981, was incorporated as a non-profit- making organisation in April 2001. It is committed to promoting the art of Chinese dance in Hong Kong, and produces five productions each season. The company also organises outreach and educational events for the community at large, especially young people. In April, by special invitation, the company gave performances of The Butterfly Lovers at the Shanghai Grand Theatre to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Hong Kong's reunification with the Mainland.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, an 89-member ensemble, is the city's oldest and largest orchestra. It gave a total of 206 concerts during the year. The orchestra