[Press Release] Hong Kong Dance Company Promotes Ho Ho-fei and Ong Tze Shen as Principal Dancers
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Hong Kong Dance Company Promotes
Ho Ho-fei and Ong Tze Shen as Principal Dancers
(Hong Kong – 8 November 2023) Hong Kong Dance Company (the Company) announced today the promotion of two Senior Dancers, Ho Ho-fei and Ong Tze Shen, as Principal Dancers with effect from 1 December 2023.
Being the first Principal Dancer born and raised in Hong Kong, Ho Ho-fei graduated from the HKAPA, majored in Chinese Dance with a minor in choreography. He received numerous scholarships, a bronze medal at the 4th Shenzhen Modern Dance Competition and a gold medal at the 3rd National Minority Performance Gala. Ho joined Hong Kong Dance Company in 2010 and was one of the researchers of the Company’s Research Study on Chinese Martial Arts and Chinese Dance. He performed major roles in Qingming Riverside, Chinese Hero: A Lone Exile, Liu Sanjie, A Sea of Smiling LT Ducks, A Tale of the Southern Sky and more. His choreographic work Protect received a gold medal in the pas de deux category at the 2013 Hong Kong Bauhinia Cup International Dance Invitation Competition. As a scholarship recipient of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund, Ho has graduated with a Master's degree of Fine Arts in Dance with distinction from the HKAPA in 2023.
Born in Penang, Malaysia, Ong Tze Shen graduated from the HKAPA with First Class Honours in 2018 and joined Hong Kong Dance Company the same year. He was one of the researchers of the Company’s Research Study on Chinese Martial Arts and Chinese Dance and performed major roles in A Tale of the Southern Sky, Nezha: Untold Solitude, Nine Songs, The Kids in Rainbow Jerseys; choreographed and performed in More–Human in 8/F Platform – here and there. Ong has danced in a wide variety of festivals and productions. He choreographed Dating with D with Christy Poinsettia Ma and performed the work in 2017; produced the full-length dance theatre In The Amorphous Beings for the George Town Festival in Penang 2017; took part in CAMPING 2018 at the Centre National de la Danse in Paris. Ong won the 2nd prize in the 17th Seoul International Dance Competition (contemporary dance division) in 2020; and was awarded “Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer” at the 24th Hong Kong Dance Awards with his role Nezha in Nezha: Untold Solitude in 2023.
The Company has just successfully opened its 2023/24 dance season with A Dance of Celestial Rhythms, which has met with resounding popularity and garnered universal acclaim. The Company will continue to advocate enriching cultural exchanges with Mainland and overseas counterparts through touring performances and festival participation. Following its earlier visits to Beijing, Xinjiang and Bangkok, the Convergence tour is staging in Tokyo and Kanazawa on 25 and 29 November, and back for its live debut (co-presented with West Kowloon Cultural District) in Hong Kong on 8-12 December. It will also be the first main stage performance by Ho and Ong as Principal Dancers. Hong Kong Dance Company is excited to witness the special moment for these two exceptional and aspiring dancers with the audience.
About the publisher
Hong Kong Dance Company
“Dancing across East and West, Moving to the Tempo of Hong Kong”
Mission Statement
We are nurtured in the cultural tradition of China, combining with the creativity of contemporary art, to impress the world with Chinese dance of Hong Kong character.
Established in 1981, Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) was incorporated in 2001 as a charitable and non-profit-making institution, and is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. As one of the major flagship performing arts companies in Hong Kong, our mission is to promote Chinese dance with contemporary artistic visions and Hong Kong character. Since its inception, HKDC has staged over 200 productions over the decades, many of which were highly popular and critically acclaimed. Recent productions include The Legend of Mulan, Red Poppies, Spring Ritual·Eulogy, The Butterfly Lovers, Storm Clouds, L’Amour Immortel, Dream of the Past: Ancient Chinese Court Dances, Reveries of the Red Chamber, Chinese Hero: A Lone Exile, Vipassana, Lady White of West Lake, Tale of Three Cities, Waiting Heart, Liu Sanjie, Ode to the Silk Road, Dance of Strings, A Tale of the Southern Sky, Mazu the Sea Goddess, The Moon Opera, Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature, Nine Songs, Nezha: Untold Solitude, Myth of the Dancing Durumi, as well as Convergence, a culminating work created through a three-year interdisciplinary research study on Chinese dance and Chinese martial arts traditions.
As a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong, HKDC constantly brings the city’s unique artistic style to the world by touring to different cities across the globe, engaging local audiences and encouraging cultural exchange. In recent years, we have brought our award-winning productions to Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sony Centre in Toronto, Concourse Theatre in Chatswood, Sydney, Southbank Centre in London, the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre in Minsk, Arko Arts Theatre in Seoul, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre in Beijing, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai International Dance Cente, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Guangzhou Opera House, Taipei New Stage and Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, among others.
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Media Enquiries Ms Jenny Lam｜Head of Marketing and Communications Ms Cheng Yu-ching｜Assistant Manager (Marketing) |
