Paul Tam Resigns as Executive Director of Hong Kong Ballet
[Hong Kong—1 November 2019] Hong Kong Ballet announces that its Executive Director since 2014, Paul Tam, will be stepping down from his position in early 2020.
During his five-year tenure, Tam has led Hong Kong Ballet’s corporate growth, audience development, fundraising, as well as education and community engagement. The Company had its strongest year in history at the box office last season, both in revenue and attendance, buttressed by four completely sold-out runs of The Nutcracker, ALICE (in wonderland), The Great Gatsby and the first-ever Annual International Gala of Stars. A record total of 57,895 paid audience members brought in an unprecedented box office revenue at HK$16.4M, constituting growth of 41% and 32%, respectively. In 2015, Tam initiated the rebranding campaign for the Company, and the game-changing branding campaign “Never Standing Still” was so successful that the number of subscribers from last season shot up by 74%, and the revenue soared by 118%. Moreover, Tam forged impactful partnerships with a multitude of key players for the Company’s inaugural Ballet Plus and Ballet in the City, an expansive community outreach project, as well as other initiatives. Under his leadership, the Company’s Education and Outreach Programmes hit an all-time high of participation in 2018/19, standing at almost 60,000 attendees strong.
“We are very grateful to Paul for his work with us, and we are sad to see him leave Hong Kong Ballet. However, we congratulate him on this next step of his career and know that he will continue to have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s cultural life,” said Mrs Mira Yeh, Chairman of Board of Governors of Hong Kong Ballet.
“Paul’s work at Hong Kong Ballet helped us usher in a new era for our Company, with increased excellence on stage, deeper impact in our community, and increased international prestige. He leaves Hong Kong Ballet in great shape financially and administratively and will greatly be missed,” said Ms Daisy Ho, Vice-Chairman of Board of Governors and immediate Past Chairman of Hong Kong Ballet.
Tam expressed, “I have found my time at Hong Kong Ballet to be so rewarding, and I feel so proud of what we have accomplished together. It’s been wonderful to work with our Board of Governors, dedicated staff and powerful artists and to partner with Septime to implement an extraordinary artistic vision.”
“Paul has been a terrific partner. We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount together—both onstage and off—and I will miss working with him on a daily basis. But I also look forward to working with him as a colleague at an esteemed partner organisation,” said Septime Webre, Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet.
Hong Kong Ballet’s Board of Governors will launch a search for a successor in the coming weeks.
Download High Resolution Image
[Press Ctrl and click on the thumbnails to download]
Photo: Paul Tam
About Hong Kong Ballet
One of Asia’s premier ballet companies, Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) is internationally recognised as a vibrant arts institution that represents Hong Kong’s unique character. Established in 1979 and led by Artistic Director Septime Webre, HKB has a dynamic repertoire performed by nearly 50 dancers from all over the globe and award-winning education and community programmes.
With almost 50 international tours, the Company has won recognition from critics and fans both at home and abroad. Its diverse repertoire includes classic and modern masterpieces, original full-length ballets created for the Company, an interactive ballet series for younger fans and groundbreaking dance by today’s most sought-after choreographers, including Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Jiří Kylian, Nacho Duato and Trey McIntyre, among others.
HKB maintains an active schedule of community initiatives throughout Hong Kong to ensure that ballet is accessible to people from all walks of life. The Company celebrates its 40th Anniversary Season in 2019/20.
For further information, please contact:
Nick Chan
Director of Marketing
T: (852) 2105 9716
M: (852) 9728 1777
[email protected]
