Cultural Presentations

The Cultural Presentations Section offers music, dance, Chinese opera, theatre and multimedia performing arts programmes throughout the year. These programmes range from the traditional to the cutting edge and offer Hong Kong audiences the best of local artists and international stars. During the 2009-10 year, more than 980 performances took place, attracting a total audience of around 450 000.

Local contemporary music-maker Samson Young, in conjunction with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, gave the extraordinarily pioneering music performance Electric Requiem: God Save the Queen. Renowned film and TV star Helena Law Lan participated in the video performance.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, the LCSD presented a Cantonese Operatic Songs Gala Concert performed by special guest star Lam Kar-sing invited from overseas and more than 20 master artists from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The year 2009 also marked the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the 10th anniversary of the Kwai Tsing Theatre. Highlights of the celebratory programmes at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre included concerts by Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams, two artists who appeared during the Centre's opening festival 20 years ago, and Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra, who played 'Happy Birthday Variations' as an encore. There were also performances by local artists and arts groups, including Mozart's Magic Flute, a co-production of Opera Hong Kong, the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Den Norske Opera & Ballett; Piano Pals Singing Happy Birthday by Gabriel Kwok, Nancy Loo, Eva Lue and Tam Ka-kit, four artists gathering together for the second time in 20 years to celebrate the Centre's birthday; The Exquisite Charm of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera by Tang Yuen-ha; and Diary VI‧Applause… by dance artist Mui Cheuk-yin. Programmes held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Kwai Tsing Theatre included performances by the National Dance Company of Korea and the Edward Lam Dance Theatre, as well as Excerpts of Cantonese Operas by Tong Tik-sang, which was performed by Cantonese opera stars.

Mozart's operatic masterpiece The Magic Flute, which combines popular comedy and spectacle with Masonic practices, was staged in November 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the HKCC.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Kwai Tsing Theatre, the National Dance Company of Korea brought the aesthetics of Korean dance to the Hong Kong audience in their performance of Korean Fantasy ----- Scent of Spring.

Other programme highlights of the year included the legendary pianist Maurizio Pollini making his Hong Kong debut; two concerts by Staatskapelle Dresden from Germany under the baton of Fabio Luisi, with Emanuel Ax as the piano soloist; the Choir of King's College Cambridge; the Sydney Symphony, with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting and Hong Kong's own young and talented Rachel Cheung appearing as solo pianist; Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, a comic opera in two acts produced by Musica Viva; Swan Lake and Raymonda by the Kiev Ballet from the Ukraine; Red Rose & White Rose by the National Theatre of China; and the Boundless Multi-Media Series, which featured an array of international and local multi-media performances. Turning to Chinese opera, the Chinese Clapper Opera Series showcased a number of bangzi opera troupes from the Mainland. In addition, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of renowned local librettist Tong Tik-sang, local Cantonese opera veterans performed excerpts of his best-known works in a programme entitled Excerpts of Cantonese Operas by Tong Tik-sang. Maestro Lam Kar-sing flew in from Canada to share his valuable experience of Cantonese opera with the audience attending a special Talk on Lam Kar-sing's Art of Cantonese Opera. The seventh Cantonese Opera Day was organised on the last Sunday of November 2009 with a view to bringing this traditional art form closer to the public.

Renowned for its performing excellence, remarkable precision and flawless purity, the Kiev Ballet from the Ukraine made its Hong Kong debut in September 2009 with Raymonda, a two-act piece telling of the love between a French noblewoman and her crusading knight.

Modern Chinese author Eileen Chang's renowned Red Rose & White Rose casts two actors in the same role to depict a man's struggle between sense and lust.

Cantonese maestro Lam Kar-sing joined hands with other renowned Cantonese opera masters from Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong in a gala concert to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China.

In support of the Hong Kong 2009 EAG, a series of cultural and ethnic programmes from participating countries/regions were organised, including an outdoor carnival called the EAG Cultural Extravaganza, Tian Haojiang appearing in Guo Wenjing's opera Poet Li Bai, and performances by two leading Asian percussion troupes, U Theatre from Taiwan and Za Ondekoza from Japan.

The fun-filled EAG Cultural Extravaganza offered an opportunity for cultural exchange. A number of overseas performing groups from within the region, including the Shaanxi Folk Arts Troupe from the Mainland, staged cultural programmes to tie in with the 5th East Asian Games (EAG) in Hong Kong.

Sound of the Ocean, staged by the U Theatre of Taiwan, struck an energetic note for the EAG by showcasing the excellence, innovation and depth of Taiwanese culture and art.

The LCSD has long supported local artists and arts groups by offering them numerous performing opportunities. The various thematic series organised during the year included Our Music Talent Series to identify musicians with potential, the Solo Show Series featuring local veteran choreographers and dancers, the New Force in Motion Series showcasing budding local choreographers, the Young Cantonese Opera Artists Series to identify young Cantonese opera artists with potential and to provide a platform for young professional groups, the Musical… Musical! Series to enhance support for local small-and-medium-sized theatre groups, and Playwright Scheme IV showcasing the talent of 21 local playwrights. The second Dance Day held at Yuen Long Theatre also provided a platform for a number of small-and-medium-sized dance groups to display their talent and reach out to audiences in the community, especially young audiences. Additional support was given to local arts groups attracting audiences in the New Territories. In parallel with these initiatives, the Department also introduced a pilot scheme entitled Student Rush Ticket whose aim is to encourage students to attend cultural performances by offering them a 70% discount on on-the-day ticket purchases of selected programmes.

A festive Dance Day was held at the Yuen Long Theatre in February 2010 with the participation of hundreds of performers. Seven local dancers showcased their talent on the Main Stage.

A number of local artists and programmes presented by the LCSD in 2009-10 won prizes and awards both locally and internationally. In 2009, for example, young Hong Kong pianist Rachel Cheung won fifth prize in the prestigious Leeds International Pianoforte Competition. In the 19th Hong Kong Drama Awards, The Passage Beyond by the Actors' Family was awarded Best Performance of the Year, and Design for Living by Edward Lam's Dance Theatre and Titus Andronicus 2.0 by the Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio were each named one of the year's 10 Favourite Productions. The dance programme Homecoming by Passover Dance achieved top honours at the Hong Kong Dance Awards 2010, winning awards for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance and Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer.

The LCSD continues to actively explore new performance spaces other than those under its management to further support the growth and development of local artists in the community, with a number of performances staged at other venues in 2009-10, including the On and On Theatre, Cattle Depot, the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, the Shek Kip Mei Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, the Nan Lian Garden, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Youth Square and the auditoria of various universities. This new initiative demonstrates the Department's efforts to strengthen support for the local arts sector and enhance cultural ambience at the community level.

The Department also engaged in on-going co-operative efforts with the Consulates-General of different countries, as well as various cultural organisations during the year. The sponsored and jointly presented events helped foster cultural exchange and understanding and to further affirm Hong Kong's reputation as Asia's world city.