ENG-2007 — Page 440

372 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

Performing Arts Groups

Chung Ying Theatre

Established in 1979, the Chung Ying Theatre Company is a non-profit-making leading professional theatre company in Hong Kong. The company is dedicated to producing high quality theatrical productions to pursue the goals of promoting theatrical arts, exploring cultural exchanges and enriching cultural life.

In 2007, the company introduced the English play Our Bad Magnet, which was translated into Chinese, an international bestseller for years Tuesdays with Morrie, an adaptation from a local memoir, For You are with me, and a French classical masterpiece, Cyrano de Bergerac. Through a wide range of outreach and professional training programmes for schools and local organisations throughout the territory, the company strives to connect people through stage performances and drama education.

City Contemporary Dance Company

The City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) was established in 1979. It is a professional modern dance company that nurtures talent to create dance in the context of modern China. In 2007, the company produced four original productions C'est la Vie, C'est L'amour, Awakening, Warrior Lanling and HerStory. The company was invited to perform in Guangzhou, Beijing, Washington, DC and San Francisco. The CCDC Dance Centre also offers a great variety of dance courses to the public and develops new audiences through its outreach programmes.

Hong Kong Ballet

Under the leadership of the new board chairman and the artistic director, Hong Kong Ballet built up an even stronger audience base during the year. The company produced three new productions in 2007: Dutch renowned choreographer Rudi van Dantzig's Romeo and Juliet (premièred in March), Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow (debut on Hong Kong stage in May), and a mixed bill programme, Momentum, which featured three distinctive one-act ballets in November and was highlighted by a sparkling performance by the New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Sofiane Sylve and her dancing partner Tamas Solymosi who made their debut in Hong Kong with a pas de deux from Le Corsaire Act I. The company revived three full-length productions, namely Swan Lake, Cinderella and The Nutcracker.

The company's Education and Outreach Department also strives to make the art of ballet accessible to the general public via various activities.

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is the city's sole professional symphonic Chinese orchestra. Under the leadership of its current Artistic Director Yan Huichang, its 85 professional artists have been zealously promoting the development of Chinese music. One prominent characteristic of the art of the orchestra is its root in classical Chinese music and fusion with western music. During the year, the orchestra presented the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's 30th Anniversary Concert From Ancient to Modern, As East Meets West, and the Fourth

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