Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for performances. Apart from the main campus in Wan Chai, Bethanie, the site of the institution's Landmark Heritage Campus in Pok Fu Lam, has housed the School of Film and Television since 2007. The academy provides practice-based and professional diploma, advanced diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Chinese opera, dance, drama, film and television, music, and theatre and entertainment arts. Its educational policy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with an emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions and interdisciplinary learning. The academy ranks 1st in Asia for four consecutive years and 10th in the world for two consecutive years in 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject (Performing Arts). Every year, the academy enrols approximately 750 students for its full-time programmes and around 770 students for its Junior Music Programme and Gifted Young Dancer Programme. Furthermore, its extensive EXCEL (Extension and Continuing Education for Life) programme offers part-time personal enrichment courses and in-service professional training to nearly 8,000 students each year. History In early 1981, the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club informed Governor Murray MacLehose that it was willing to fund another project of a comparable scale to its recent major undertakings, which included the Ocean Park and the Jubilee Sports Centre. The government responded with a proposal to develop an academy for the performing arts. The academy would complement the performing arts spaces being opened across the territory by the Urban Council, and provide opportunities for creative youth just as the Jubilee Sports Centre was developed to serve young sportspeople.