Summary of Discussion of the 28Th COAC Meeting on 23 December 2014

Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee (COAC) Summary of Discussion of the 28th COAC Meeting on 23 December 2014 Progress on the provision of Xiqu Centre reported by the West Kowloon Cultural District authority (WKCDA) 1. The WKCDA reported to the COAC on the latest progress of the provision of Xiqu Centre, including: i) Construction works – the foundation works have been completed successfully, to be followed by the construction of the main building scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2017; ii) Audience building and talent cultivation programme – talk series, workshops and the Rising Stars in Cantonese Opera Showcase were organised; and iii) Arts development planning – various works will commence, including researches, study visits and observations, cultivation of talent, partners building, programmes and activities planning, and the arrangement of specially invited and commissioned programmes. 2. Members of the COAC expressed their views on the modus operandi of the Xiqu Centre, its development direction on education and training as well as the support to artists’ development and arts preservation. The section on Cantonese opera under the Xiqu Education in Schools Scheme briefed by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) 3. The HKADC introduced to the COAC the Xiqu (including Cantonese opera) Education in Schools Scheme has been implemented since 2005. The target beneficiaries of the Scheme are students in Hong Kong. The education activities can be in any forms and conducted inside or outside classrooms. Specific contents may include basic technique training such as "singing, acting, reciting and martial arts performing", lectures on Chinese opera knowledge, guided puppet shows, etc. The HKADC expected that local students’ interest in, understanding of and appreciation towards the arts of Cantonese opera and other Chinese operas would be cultivated under the Scheme, hence nurturing a new generation of audience and artists. The Cantonese opera education and community promotion activities briefed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) 4. The LCSD briefed the COAC on their three-pronged approach to audience building, namely inviting Cantonese opera artists to give lectures on the appreciation of the art at schools, encouraging students to watch live Cantonese opera performances at theatres and exchange views with artists, and promoting the art to the public through the Community Cultural Ambassador Scheme. The LCSD would organise various activities to build audience and collect data on the audience size as well as changes in its composition so as to proceed with its publicity work targeted at different age groups. 5. The COAC advised the LCSD on the assessment of the effectiveness of the activities concerned, the promotional activities among youngsters through schools and parents, and the approach to organising guided tours by the Cantonese opera industry and the education sector. The overall development of Cantonese opera venues in Hong Kong 6. The COAC invited the representatives from the HAB and the LCSD to brief members on the development of Cantonese opera venues in Hong Kong, including developing the relevant venues of different scales and drawing up appropriate measures on booking arrangements for the sector. The main points are as follows: i) Provision of LCSD performing venues for staging Cantonese operas: Apart from Ko Shan Theatre, Yau Ma Tei Theatre and Sha Tin Town Hall, venues such as Yuen Long Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Tuen Mun Town Hall and Tsuen Wan Town Hall are from time to time used for Cantonese opera performances; ii) Development of the Ko Shan Theatre and its New Wing and the Yau Ma Tei Theatre into dedicated venues for Cantonese opera performances: The Ko Shan Theatre New Wing was formally commissioned in November 2014 to provide the Cantonese opera sector with a venue for performance, rehearsal and training, as a way to reinforce the function of the existing Theatre at the Ko Shan Theatre as a dedicated venue for the art. The Yau Ma Tei Theatre was redeveloped and reopened as early as July 2012. It is a performing venue dedicated for Chinese opera performances and also provides performance, rehearsal and training facilities specially for budding artists and new troupes of Cantonese opera; iii) Special initiatives on venue hiring at LCSD’s five major venues: The LCSD has introduced priority hire policy/special booking arrangement for local professional troupes at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall, the Auditorium of the Tsuen Wan Town Hall, the Auditorium of the Kwai Tsing Theatre and the Auditorium of the Sha Tin Town Hall, reserving a total of 70 days of time slots per annum for Cantonese opera performances. iv) Support given to Cantonese opera troupes to participate in Venue Partnership Scheme: The LCSD has reserved time slots and provided free venues for four Cantonese opera troupes selected as venue partners of the Sha Tin Town Hall, the Tuen Mun Town Hall, the Yuen Long Theatre and the Yau Ma Tei Theatre to give performances and organise relevant activities. 7. The HAB concluded that the Government has been implementing flexible and multi-faceted policies, including using LCSD performing venues, providing dedicated facilities for Cantonese opera, developing venue hiring measures and constructing and developing new facilities, so as to support comprehensively the development of venues for Cantonese opera. The Government would keep in view the Cantonese opera sector’s need for venues and keep close contact with the sector, with a view to providing sufficient and suitable venues for them. In addition, the Government would, in response to the need of the Cantonese opera sector, develop relevant policies of venue using and hiring, so as to support the performance, preservation, transmission, training, promotion and development of Cantonese opera. 8. The COAC noted that venues such as the Xiqu Centre of the WKCD for Cantonese opera performance would be constructed and understood that there were venues of different scales suitable for Cantonese opera performance in Hong Kong apart from the ones operated by the Government. The COAC would advise on the planning of developing venues for Cantonese opera and the further support to Cantonese opera development through the provision of existing venues. Secretariat of the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee .

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