The Hong Kong Ballet Guild Hosts its Annual Festive Fundraiser
The Nutcracker Christmas Benefit 2024

[Hong Kong — 16 December 2024] On Sunday, 15 December 2024, Hong Kong Ballet’s signature fundraiser The Nutcracker Christmas Benefit 2024 was held at Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. Organised by The Hong Kong Ballet Guild, the Benefit’s highlight was a delightful excerpt of Septime Webre’s beloved The Nutcracker by 35 of the organising committee members’ children ages 3-10 on a professional stage.
 
The annual holiday fundraiser was a memorable and joyful occasion for families and friends, culminating in the much-anticipated children’s performance to Tchaikovsky’s iconic music with the young dancers in charming tailor-made costumes alongside extravagant life-sized sets. The Hong Kong Ballet Guild hopes that children who experience ballet at a young age will nurture a life-long love of the performing arts, and the Benefit gave them an early opportunity for a meaningful ballet experience.

Over 400 prominent society figures and celebrities turned out for an event of fundraising and entertainment, including The Nutcracker Christmas Benefit 2024 co-chairs Mrs Emily Lam Ho, JP, Mrs Emelda Wong Trainor, Mrs Charlotte Tsuei-Robinson, Ms Daisy Ho, BBS, HKB Chairman, and Organising Committee members Ms Jennifer Cheung, Prof Ava Kwong, Ms Maya Lin, Mrs Deirdre Fu Tcheng and many more. Special guests included Ms Elly Lam, Ms Hsieh Lingling, Mr Kent Ho, Ms Leung Bo-chu, Mr Helmut Sohmen, Mrs Anna Pao Pui Hing, Mrs Ming Tang and more.

The Benefit’s engaging live and silent auctions and ‘Make a Pledge’ campaign raised money for HKB’s Accessibility Fund and the ‘Dancing to Hong Kong's Heartbeat 3.0’ programme, which bring ballet to seniors and underserved families in Hong Kong. In 2025, the programme will grow to communities beyond the city with an interactive ballet workshop and field trip to famous Hong Kong landmarks. Additionally, the free Silver Ballet classes will expand to community centres for seniors to maintain good health while enjoying a fun, authentic ballet experience. Guests eagerly participated to help HKB continue its artistic development and share the joy of ballet in the community.

Organising Committee co-chair Mrs Emily Lam Ho welcomed guests and acknowledged the Benefit’s generous sponsors, saying, ‘We are truly grateful to our Prestige Sponsor La Prairie for helping us host this magnificent fundraising event and to our Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors and patrons and donors. Special thanks goes to Deirdre Fu Tcheng, Artistic Director Septime Webre, Executive Director Heidi Lee and of course, the HKB dancers and HKB team. Together, you have done such a fantastic job in ensuring that HKB’s reputation and artistic excellence constantly exceed expectations.’

Co-chair Mrs Emelda Wong Trainor added, ‘We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the tireless Benefit organising committee members who have made today possible even though their work has been mostly behind the scenes. Your support and donations directly support arts and culture in Hong Kong, and is vital for us to reach more underprivileged people in our city.’ 

Lastly, co-chair Mrs Charlotte Tsuei-Robinson acknowledged HKB’s partners with ‘Thank you also to our auctioneer Ms Elaine C Kwok, Luxury Lifestyle English Media Partner Tatler Hong Kong, Chinese Media Partner VOGUE Hong Kong, EX.R Consulting Ltd. for the event PR and Hong Kong Cultural Centre for providing such an amazing venue for us year after year.’

The Nutcracker Christmas Benefit 2024

Co-Chairs:

Mrs Emily Lam Ho, JP, Mrs Emelda Wong Trainor, Mrs Charlotte Tsuei-Robinson

Download High Resolution Photos

For further information, please contact:
Jerry Qiu | Programme & Communications Manager | T: 2105 9753 | [email protected]
Ruth Chung | Assistant Marketing and PR Manager | T: 2105 9716 | [email protected]

About The Hong Kong Ballet Guild
The Hong Kong Ballet Guild was established in April 2008 by a group of Hong Kong’s most avid ballet enthusiasts. The objectives of the Guild are to promote Hong Kong Ballet, raise its public profile and preserve its heritage. By increasing awareness of and support for ballet among diverse sectors of society through extensive community engagement programmes, the Guild hopes to achieve its dual objects of developing a wider audience for Hong Kong Ballet, and fostering a society that appreciates this art form, thus enabling Hong Kong to flourish as a global cultural hub.

About Hong Kong Ballet
Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) is recognised internationally as a world-class institution that represents Hong Kong's unique character. Since its inception in 1979, HKB has evolved into a vibrant performing arts organisation with a dynamic repertoire, forward-thinking community engagement initiatives and an emphasis on excellence. 

Comprised of 50 dancers from all over the globe – Hong Kong, Mainland China and other parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America, HKB has won recognition both regionally and internationally. With celebrated re-stagings of the classics, neoclassical masterworks by George Balanchine and others and original ballets created for HKB and about Hong Kong. Additionally, HKB performs works by some of today’s most sought-after choreographers, including Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, Justin Peck, Jiří Kylian, Nacho Duato and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa as well as innovative new works by its Choreographer-in-Residence, Hu Song-wei Ricky, and numerous emerging Hong Kong choreographers. 

With almost 50 tours to 11 countries, HKB has recently toured throughout Europe, the US and Asia and places a special emphasis on representing Hong Kong in Mainland China and the West. HKB maintains the Hong Kong Academy of Ballet, a professionally-oriented ballet school, as well as a full schedule of award-winning community programmes and crossover collaborations throughout Hong Kong to ensure ballet is accessible to all. HKB has also produced engaging original videos and dance films that have collectively garnered over 10 million views online, connecting with ballet lovers worldwide.