Press Release - May 14, 2004

It was a moment of great honour for Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Ballet this (May 14) evening when the Vancouver City Government proclaimed May 14, 2004 as the “Hong Kong Ballet’s Canada Tour Day” in Vancouver to honour Hong Kong’s initiative to bring its national ballet to Vancouver as part of its “Relaunch Hong Kong” North America Tour and to commemorate the Hong Kong Ballet’s Vancouver Performance of “Legend of the Great Archer” as a very special joint venture between Hong Kong and Vancouver for a meaningful cause.

The proclamation was made by Mayor Larry Campbell when he joined the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ms Shelley Lee, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada) (HKETO), Mr Bassanio So, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Ballet, Ms Helen Ng, on stage for the ballet’s opening ceremony in front of a packed audience of 2,900 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Following his announcement, Mayor Campbell presented a proclamation plaque to Permanent Secretary Lee, the Head of the Delegation, as a memento of the occasion.

As Hong Kong’s contribution to Canadian culture, the Hong Kong Ballet’s Vancouver Performance was organized by the HKETO and jointly presented with the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver (CCC) and the City of Vancouver. It succeeded in raising CAD$135,000 in support of CCC’s expansion program.

To recognize the fund-raising effort, a cheque was presented by Ms Shelley Lee and Mr Bassanio So to the Chairman of CCC’s Hong Kong Ballet Vancouver Performance Organising Committee, Mr Brian Lo, and the two Hon Chairmen of the Hong Kong Ballet Vancouver Performance, Mr Monty Jang and Dr Peter Wong.

The opening ceremony unveiled the two-hour full length neo-classical ballet performance of “ Legend of the Great Archer” which delighted the audience with its powerful interpretation of the Chinese themed folk tale of the Archer God, choreographed by the Hong Kong Ballet’s Artistic Director, Stephen Jefferies.

Throughout the performance, the audience was captivated by the flawless movements of the dancers who put up their very best to turn the performance into a real spectacle.

Also present at today’s ballet performance were Mayor Alan Lowe of the City of Victoria, the British Columbia Minister of State for Women’s and Seniors’ Services, the Hon Ida Chong, the Minister of Management Services, the Hon Joyce Murray, and the Chinese Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver, Mr Li Yuanming who have given their full support to the event.

The Hong Kong Ballet Vancouver Performance marked the conclusion of the Delegation tour in Canada. The Hong Kong Ballet Delegation will leave Vancouver tomorrow for San Jose in the United States. The final destination of the Hong Kong Ballet’s “Relaunch Hong Kong” four-city tour will be in Washington DC later this month.

Now that the Hong Kong Ballet’s Vancouver Performance has drawn to a successful close, the organizers wish to extend their sincere appreciation to the sponsors for their strong support.

These sponsors include the special sponsors and supporters from Hong Kong: J P Morgan, OOCL, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Information Services Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and the Exclusive Travel Sponsors: Air Canada and Tour East Holidays.

Other Vancouver sponsors and supporters include Gold Sponsors: Holborn Group and LG Cashmere Mr Johnny Fong; Silver Sponsors: Dorset College and Kingston College; Bronze Sponsors: Park Georgia Insurance, Olympic Distributors, VanCity Saving Credit Union and Tak Shing Chau; and other sponsors: Cathay Importers, CIBC, Mr Kam Wai Lee, Kitty’s Beauty Studio, Kiu Shun Trading Co. Ltd., Mr Lawrence Woo, Parker Place Medical Centre, Transpacific and University of Victoria.

The event’s promotion sponsor is Cathay Pacific Airways while the Premium Media Sponsors are Fairchild Media Group, Fairchild TV, Fairchild Radio and TalentVision. Ming Pao and World Journal have supported the event as Media Sponsors.

For further information, please contact John Tam, Chief Information Officer at (416)924-5544, email [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected] or Catherine Yuen, Principal Consultant, Vancouver at (604)331-1300, email [email protected].