Hundreds of youngsters were given the chance to see Cirque du Soleil's hi-tech fantasy dance and acrobatics extravaganza Quidam at dress rehearsals this week.
The Canadian company, which has a policy of donating one per cent of its annual ticket revenue to social causes, especially those working with children at risk, made 500 tickets available to Hong Kong schools and social welfare groups.
Cirque du Soleil's local tour spokeswoman Merri Hagan said she couldn't give a breakdown of where the tickets went because it was handled by the company's headquarters in Montreal.
A number of international school pupils were either allocated tickets or won them in competitions and draws, but Ms Hagan said they need not have been among the 500. 'We also gave tickets to our local sponsors and partners and they could well have come from them.'
She said Cirque du Soleil gave dress rehearsal tickets to schools and supported welfare groups because education was important to the company. 'We often have performing youngsters and families with children on tour and we need to educate kids on site,' she said.
Ms Hagan said there were currently three youngsters attending the Cirque school, two at secondary level and one primary. The secondary pupils were the youngsters playing the lead girl, Zoe, with the primary pupil being the daughter of a performer. She said two teachers were with the troupe, teaching the French Canadian curriculum.