Septime Webre is an internationally recognised ballet director, choreographer, educator and advocate. He joined Hong Kong Ballet as its Artistic Director in July 2017 after 17 years as Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet in Washington DC, US from 1999-2016. Previously he served as Artistic Director of the American Repertory Ballet, based in Princeton, New Jersey, US from 1993-1999. In addition, Webre has served as the Artistic Director of Halcyon, a Washington DC-based foundation, launching an annual international Festival for Creativity in Washington DC in June 2018.

During Webre’s tenure at The Washington Ballet, the institution’s budget grew by 500%, and it enjoyed unprecedented advances in the scope and quality of its work on stage, in the size and reach of its professional school and in the development of several far-reaching community engagement programmes that he founded. Webre also launched an array of artistic initiatives, including The American Experience, which developed great works of literature like The Great Gatsby and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises into full-length ballets.

As a choreographer, Webre’s works appear in the repertoires of ballet companies throughout North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, and many others, and he has worked frequently in theatre as well as opera. His new work for HKB, Romeo + Juliet, set in 1960s Hong Kong, will have its world premiere in June 2021. As a dancer, Webre was featured in solo and principal roles from the classical repertoire as well as in contemporary works by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor and Merce Cunningham. He has served on the board of Dance/USA and on the juries of a number of international ballet competitions, including those in Varna, Bulgaria, Istanbul, Cape Town, New York and Seoul. Webre's work has received numerous honors, grants and awards. He holds a degree in History/Pre-Law from the University of Texas at Austin and is the seventh son in a large, boisterous Cuban-American family.

A former coryphée of Hong Kong Ballet who has performed numerous lead roles, Irene Lo has been working closely with HKB for over a decade. Currently, she is the Associate Director of Training for HKB’s Classical Ballet Training Programme and the part-time faculty member at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). In 2022, she obtained her Master of Fine Arts in Dance with distinction at HKAPA with a full scholarship from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund.

During 2021-2023, Lo was a Rehearsal Mistress for the children who danced in HKB’s Peter Pan, Cinderella, ALICE (in wonderland) and The Nutcracker. In 2018, she was a project coordinator for Scottish Ballet’s Hansel & Gretel. As a certified yoga and aerial yoga instructor, Lo also teaches ballet and yoga at City Contemporary Dance Company and Hong Kong Dance Company. In the past decade, she has been a guest teacher in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Malaysia, Indonesia and Macau.

Her choreographic work includes the TV ad of a Cheung Kong/ Sun Hung Kai Property Grand Jeté, Hello Hong Kong with Hong Kong Tourism Board featuring celebrities Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chan and Sammi Cheng, True Light College’s 150^th anniversary musical and Three As One Theatre’s drama No Name.

Lo’s accolades include ‘Most Promising Dancer’ from Friends of Hong Kong Ballet and ‘Outstanding Performance of the Year’ from Hong Kong Dance Alliance. Additionally, Lo was Chief Executive Manager of the Asian Grand Prix (AGP) in 2013-2015 and served as a jury member in the Manila, Malaysia, AGP, Canaan International Competitions and Dance World Cup.

Born in Zhejiang, China, Shen Jie trained at Zhejiang Vocational Academy of Art, Guangzhou Dance School and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He joined Hong Kong Ballet in 2007, was named Soloist in 2013 and became Principal Dancer in 2016 . In 2022, he was appointed HKB’s Arts Education and Cultural Ambassador.

With HKB, Shen has danced numerous principal and featured roles, including Albrecht in Septime Webre and Charla Genn’s Giselle, Fritz in both Stephen Jefferies’ and Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker, as well as Prince and Chinese Doll in the latter version, Blue Bird in Cynthia Harvey’s The Sleeping Beauty, Basilio in Nina Ananiashvili’s Don Quixote, Ali and Birbanto in Anna-Marie Holmes' Le Corsaire, Romeo and Mercutio in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Little Mak in Webre’s Romeo + Juliet, Franz in Ronald Hynd’s Coppélia, Camille in Hynd’s The Merry Widow, Pinocchio in Pär Isberg’s Pinocchio, Gustave in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, White Rabbit and Joker in Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland), Peter Pan and Noodler in Webre’s Peter Pan, George Wilson and Nick Carraway in Webre’s The Great Gatsby, Pao Yu in Wang Xin Peng’s The Dream of the Red Chamber, Young Uncle Tak in Yuri Ng’s Firecracker, Young Emperor and Frog Prince in Ng’s The Frog Prince–A Ballet Chinois, Jester in Natalia Conus’ Swan Lake Act III and lead roles in George Balanchine’s Jewels. He was also featured in John Meehan’s Swan Lake, Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort and Sechs Tänze, Nacho Duato’s Castrati, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush, Alexei Ratmansky’s Le Carnaval des Animaux, Jorma Elo’s Shape of Glow, Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, Edwaard Liang’s Sacred Thread, Trey McIntyre’s A Day in the Life, Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Sombrerisimo, Fei Bo’s Shenren Chang, Justyne Li and Wong Tan-ki’s Galatea & Pygmalion and Hu Song Wei Ricky’s Between the Emotion and the Response, among others.

Shen won Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer at the 2016 and 2019 Hong Kong Dance Awards. Additionally, he was nominated for the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse for his role of Pao Yu in Wang Xin Peng’s The Dream of the Red Chamber in 2014.

Lynn Liang trained at Shen Zhen Arts School and further studied in The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2012. She joined Hong Kong Ballet as a member in 2014. After she left the company she became a ballet teacher in 2019. Current, she is a faculty member of Hong Kong Ballet's Classical Ballet Training Programme. She is also a freelance dancer based in Hong Kong. 

During the Academy year, Liang obtained a full Scholarship. Liang won silver prizes in the Junior Group at the Asian Grand Prix in 2011 and at the Japan International Tsukuba Ballet Competition in 2010. She won third prize in performance and the Excellent Performance Prize at Taoli Cup Dance Competition in 2009. 

Wu Di was a former member of the Corps de Ballet of Hong Kong Ballet. He received his training at Shanghai Dance School, Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy on full scholarship and Royal Swedish Ballet School, where he graduated in 2015. 
With HKB, Wu has danced the featured role of Italian Doll in Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker and performed in John Meehan's Swan Lake, Nina Ananiashvili’s Don Quixote, Anna-Marie Holmes’ Le Corsaire, Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Ronald Hynd's Coppélia and Alexei Ratmansky’s Le Carnaval des Animaux . 
He won second prize in the Senior Division of The Nordic Baltic Ballet Competition in 2015 and received an Outstanding Performance Award in the Junior Division at the Taoli Cup Dance Competition in 2012.
 

Dawnie Kwok began her ballet training with Cheung Sau Fan, a former Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) dancer. After graduating from Hong Kong Baptist University with a Translation degree, she joined HKB's Education and Community Outreach Department in 2019 and currently serves as a HKB Classical Ballet Training Programme faculty member. In 2024, she was accredited as an Affiliate Teacher through The Royal Ballet School’s Affiliate Training And Assessment Programme. 

As a ballet student, Kwok performed with Teatro alla Scala Ballet in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2015, she obtained Distinction in Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 2 Examination. That same year she became a semi-finalist at Genée International Ballet Competition in London and received the Darcey Bussell Genée Bursary.

Corps de Ballet

Born in Hong Kong, Jeremy Chan started his ballet training at Jean M. Wong School of Ballet and received the Tsinforn C Wong Memorial Scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet School in London. He graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor's degree in Classical Dance and then joined Hong Kong Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member. Chan performed in the 2020 Prix de Lausanne Finals Interludes and won third place in the 2016 Youth American Grand Prix in New York.

Born in Welwyn Garden City, England, UK, Basil James graduated from The Royal Ballet school and joined Hong Kong Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member in 2021. He became Coryphée in 2024.

With HKB, his featured roles include Monkey King and Lead Jockey in Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker. He also performed in Cynthia Harvey’s The Sleeping Beauty and Webre’s Cinderella and ALICE (in wonderland). James was the silver medalist at the 2018 Genée International Ballet Competition.

Corps de Ballet

MR JUSTIN D'AGOSTINO ARTIST

Born in Hong Kong, Leung Saulong trained at The Hong Kong Camy Academy of Dancing, completed the Gifted Young Dance Program under the directorship of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and received a Diploma in Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from HKAPA. Leung joined Hong Kong Ballet as an Apprentice in 2015 and became a member of Corps de Ballet in 2019.

With Hong Kong Ballet, Leung has danced in John Meehan's Swan Lake, Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker, Septime Webre and Charla Genn's Giselle, Anna-Marie Holmes' Le Corsaire, Nina Ananiashvili’s Don Quixote, Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Ronald Hynd's Coppélia, Septime Webre's ALICE (in wonderland) and The Great Gatsby and Pär Isberg’s Pinocchio.

Leung received gold awards at the Open Dance Contest in Hong Kong in 2009 and 2011.

Dong Ruixue graduated from Beijing Dance Academy and was a member of The National Ballet of China in 2006. She joined Hong Kong Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member in 2011 and was named Soloist in 2014. After she left the company, she became a ballet teacher in 2021. Currently, she is a faculty member of Hong Kong Ballet's Classical Ballet Training Programme. 

With HKB, Dong has danced principal and featured roles, including Juliet in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Ballerina and Clara in Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker, Dai Yu in Wang Xin Peng’s The Dream of Red Chamber, Princess Florine in Cynthia Harvey’s The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella in Yuri Ng’s Ballet Classics for Children: Cinderella, Peasant Pas de Deux in John Meehan and Lin Mei-fang’s Giselle, Valencienne in Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow, Natalia Makarova’s Swan Lake, John Cranko’s Onegin, George Balanchine’s Jewels and Serenade, Wang Xixian’s The Red Detachment of Women, Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern choreographed by Wang Xin Peng.

Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, Lucas Jerkander trained at The Royal Swedish Ballet School and was a member of Slovenian National Ballet in 2007. He joined Hong Kong Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 2014, was named Coryphée in 2015 and became Soloist in 2016.

With Hong Kong Ballet, Jerkander has danced principal and featured roles including Von Rothbart in John Meehan's Swan Lake, Gepetto in Pär Isberg’s Pinocchio, Armand Duval in Val Caniparoli's Lady of the Camellias, Tybalt and Paris in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Egyptian Doll in Terence Kohler’s The Nutcracker, Von Rothbart in Natalia Conus’ Swan Lake Act III, Lion in Alexei Ratmansky’s Le Carnaval des Animaux, and Pas de Trois in Fei Bo’s A Room of Her Own, Man and Factory Boss in Yuh Egami and Hu Song Wei Ricky’s Bolero and Carmen respectively. He has also danced in Ronald Hynd's Coppélia, Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort, Nacho Duato’s Castrati, Krzysztof Pastor’s In Light and Shadow, Jorma Elo's Shape of Glow, Fei Bo’s Shenren Chang and Edwaard Liang’s Sacred Thread. Before joining the Company, he has danced lead roles in Irek Mukhamedov’s The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote, David Dawson’s Giselle, Yuri Vamos’ The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet, August Bournonville’s La Sylphide, George Balanchine’s Serenade and Apollo, and Jiří Kylián’s Svadebka.

Jerkander was invited to perform the role of Nutcracker in Isberg’s The Nutcracker at the Busan-Korea Gala in 2013.

Cheung Hiu Wah, Joyce majored in Ballet and graduated from The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honors), where she was awarded a dance faculty scholarship. She has participated and won awards at various dance competitions such as the Hong Kong Challenge Cup Competition, the Hong Kong Open Dance Competition and the Hong Kong (Asia) Solo Dance Competition.
Additionally, Joyce has worked with renowned choreographers like Jonathan Watkins, Kinsun Chan and Raymond Chai.
An experienced ballet teacher of 10 years. She is a certified Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) teacher and American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum (ABTNTC) teacher.