To support Hong Kong's development into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange as proposed in the National 14th Five-Year Plan and to build Hong Kong into a "Cultural Hub" as presented by Chief Executive John LEE Ka-chiu, the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (“The Foundation”) and Vivere Sky Social Enterprise have joined hands to launch the "Art Appreciation Programme" (the Programme) to promote arts in the community. We are honoured to have Mr Fredric MAO Chun-fai, fondly known as the "Godfather of Drama", as the Chief Programme Advisor and the renowned young conductor Mr Stephen LAM Lik-hin as the Artistic Director. In addition, theatre artist Dr Justine WOO Po-sau and five major arts troupes, including the Hong Kong Ballet, the City Contemporary Dance Company, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, the Actors’ Family and the Ponte Orchestra & Singers, will systematically organise courses to introduce the characteristics of different Hong Kong performing arts to the schools. This pilot Programme aims to cultivate students' art appreciation and cultural literacy. A total of 300 underprivileged students from 10 local secondary schools will benefit.

 

Mr Kenneth FOK Kai-kong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation and the Founder of Vivere Sky Social Enterprise, said, “The Art Appreciation Programme aims to inspire the young generation in deepening their understanding of performing arts, stimulate their creative thinking and strengthen their ability to appreciate art, thereby injecting new impetus into Hong Kong's cultural and art sector. Through this pilot Programme, we hope to encourage more artists, art troupes and schools to join the Programme, as well as to promote the importance of art education in Hong Kong. We also hope to attract more resources from government and social sectors to sustain the Programme, putting our concerted efforts to develop Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural and art exchange."

 

Mr Fredric MAO Chun-fai, Chief Programme Advisor of the Art Appreciation Programme, said, “We will establish a systematic approach to teach students the basics of appreciating performing arts. The Programme will incorporate Chinese culture or local cultural elements. Each workshop is limited to around 30 students so that they can have an in-depth experience in performing arts." The Programme will be launched in June and July this year. Thirty students from each of the 10 participating schools will attend a total of 6 courses, each around 1.5 hours, conducted by veteran art educators and artists.

 

The Programme includes six experiential courses on performing arts:

 

1.  Introduction to Art Appreciation: Conducted by theatre artist Ms Woo Po-sau, who emphasised that art is part of life. For example, your outfits are visual arts, your communication content is like scriptwriting, and everyone is role-playing in real life. Body movements are like dancing. Listening to songs is music appreciation. School cheerleading is a combination of music and dance. In this century we value diverse intelligence, creativity and collaboration. Performing arts that touch people require life experience, teamwork and different communication skills. The audience must develop critical thinking to distinguish good from bad.

 

2.  Contemporary Dance: The workshop conducted by the City Contemporary Dance Company begins with a lecture which provides a broad perspective on the historical development of contemporary dance, illustrated by video clips of local and international works. It will be followed by a workshop for students to experience basic dance movements based on the Laban Movement Theory. It includes the elements of body, effort, space and relationship, teaching students to connect body and emotions to express thoughts and feelings through movements.

 

3.  Drama: The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre will introduce students to the different elements of drama, including characters, plots and tensions, and guide students to create and perform on the spot. Video clips will be played to help students understand the characteristics and magic of drama performance.

 

4.  Ballet: The Hong Kong Ballet will teach students to appreciate and experience ballet. Part 1 will cover the history and development of ballet; Part 2 illustrated by the Company's original ballet, "The Nutcracker – A Hong Kong Christmas Journey" premiered in 2021, students can understand the Hong Kong-themed characters, costumes and sets, including Dr SUN Yat-sen Museum, Cheung Chau Bun Festival, butterfly and bauhinia motifs in the waltz sequence. Students can also touch ballet tutus and pointe shoes, learn basic ballet movements and choreograph a 1-minute segment. As ballet has no dialogue, students will be taught to express emotions and storylines through pantomime gestures in appreciating ballet.

 

5.  Classical Music: The Ponte Orchestra & Singers will teach students that "music is to tell stories with sound," which requires imagination to appreciate. Firstly, students will be introduced to orchestra instruments, famous pieces and musicians in gaining a basic understanding of classical music. Then the Orchestra will use a simple music work to guide students to verbally express the images and emotions. 

 

6.  Musical: Actors’ Family has tailor made a workshop for the Programme. The resident artist and musical composer, Ms Cynthia WONG Chi-wing, will introduce the elements of musical performance, the history of American and British musicals, and musical forms. Students will learn world classical and local original musicals through performance video clips. The workshop also includes live demonstrations by young actors Mr Tony LI Ho-wang and Ms Kayris CHU Wing-yan, performing excerpts from the musical "Lost in Austin". The workshop will also showcase stage costumes and props to inspire students' interest in musicals.

 

From School to Theatre and Concert Hall

After attending the six experiential courses, students will go to theatre or concert hall to watch performances. The Foundation hopes the pilot Programme can be effectively implemented and set as an example. Participating schools may arrange art and cultural exchange trips to other Greater Bay Area cities for students in the future with the sponsorship of The Foundation.

 

Photo Caption

1) Mr Kenneth FOK Kai-kong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, hopes to inspire the young generation in deepening their understanding of performing arts through the “Art Appreciation Programme”.

2) Mr Kenneth FOK Kai-kong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Left); Mr Fredric MAO Chun-fai, Chief Programme Advisor of the “Art Appreciation Programme” (Middle) and Mr Stephen LAM Lik-hin, Artistic Director of the Programme (Right).

3) Mr Kenneth FOK Kai-kong, Executive Vice Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (Fifth from right), Mr YANG Bin, CEO of the Foundation (Fourth from right), and Mr Fredric MAO Chun-fai, Chief Programme Advisor of the “Art Appreciation Programme” (Fifth from left) take photo with art troupe representatives.