ENG-2006 — Page 445

Recreation, Sport and the Arts | 377

Hong Kong Dance Company

The Hong Kong Dance Company was established in 1981 and formally incorporated as a charitable and non-profit-making organisation in April 2001. The company is committed to promoting Chinese dance and dance drama in a unique Hong Kong style. Over the years, the company staged more than 100 performances by Mainland, overseas and local choreographers, and in 2006, it staged a total of 21 large-scale shows.

The company's '8/F Platform' programme launched in mid-2005 was well received and its productions were honoured at the Hong Kong Dance Award 2006. In 2006, there were 22 performances in the 8/F Platform series, attracting 2 000 dance. fans.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2006, the company is poised to attain greater artistic goals.

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

With 90 full-time musicians, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, under Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Edo de Waart, has secured a reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Asia. The year has seen significant growth in both artistic quality and audience numbers, thanks to the continuation of Edo de Waart's cycle of Mahler symphonies (Nos. 2, 3 and 4) which received great critical acclaim, a week- long residency programme at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, performances in the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the New Vision Arts Festival, and a hugely successful free, open-air concert, Symphony Under the Stars, which attracted an audience of more than 16 000 people. The Robert H N Ho Family Foundation Orchestral Fellowships Scheme was launched in 2006. It offers a 10-month curriculum for up to 10 young Chinese string players to become professionals. The students will receive coaching and post-graduate training in the orchestra so that they may eventually join it as professionals.

Hong Kong Repertory Theatre

Established in 1977 and incorporated in 2001 as an independent company and a registered non-profit-making organisation, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre is the largest professional theatre company of its kind in Hong Kong. The company stages its productions in Cantonese, with some selected productions in Putonghua. During the year, the company staged seven productions of different genres, and went on tour with Love in a Fallen City, performing in Toronto and New York, which was followed by a further six performances of the same production in the 'Meet in Beijing' Arts Festival held in Beijing. The company also took part in the first Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, United States, with an excerpt version of The Eccentricities of a Nightingale in September. As part of its outreach activities, the company offered touring performances to schools in Hong Kong and Macao, a four-week summer drama camp for secondary school students and theatre workshops and talks for youths and the community.