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Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi SBS JP - Doctorate of the Academy honoris causa Ms Sophia Kao Ching-chi is currently a full-time Member of the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a career that spans both the private and public sectors, she applies her expertise and experience in human resources management to help the Government in identifying, engaging and nurturing talents for public service. Throughout the years, Ms Kao’s career has been underpinned by a calling to serve the people of Hong Kong. Ms Kao’s association with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts dates back to 1990, when her daughters attended the Academy’s Pre-junior Music Programme. Grateful for the positive impact of music education on their lives, Ms Kao devoted herself to giving back to the Academy by taking a more proactive role as a volunteer at The Society for the Academy for Performing Arts (SAPA) – leveraging her time, energy and network to help raise greatly-needed funds to nurture performing arts talents in Hong Kong. Ms Kao became a member of SAPA’s Executive Committee in 2003, and has served as its Joint President since 2004. As Joint President of SAPA, Ms Kao has dedicated significant time and effort to ensure the success of the Academy’s major fundraisers. Her efforts have also played an invaluable role in expanding the Academy’s network of friends and supporters throughout society. A spirit of giving back to the community has consistently marked Ms Kao’s career. A seasoned professional in human resources management and corporate administration, her corporate career began at the former Mass Transit Railway Corporation and culminated as a leader of human resources management functions at major commercial and public institutions, including the Airport Authority Hong Kong – where her contributions were instrumental to the on-time and on-budget completion of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. Throughout her career in human resources management, Ms Kao made it her mission to improve the lives of employees and their families, always striving to ensure positive work environments and the best possible benefits. In 1999, Ms Kao retired from the corporate arena and decided to devote herself full-time to voluntary work in public and community service. Since then, she has served in numerous government advisory and statutory bodies, as well as boards and committees of non-government organisations, which covered a wide spectrum of areas including public policies and strategic development, women’s rights and status, university governance, education, financial reporting regulation, hospital governance, social service and development, philanthropy, etc.

 

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As Founding Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, a regulatory body tasked with upholding the integrity of financial reporting in Hong Kong, Ms Kao led the organisation in its mission to enhance investor protection and reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a major international financial centre. Despite limited initial funding, she was able to successfully establish the Council’s reputation as a credible, transparent, accountable and efficient member of Hong Kong’s regulatory regime – winning the respect and trust of the industry, regulatory and government sectors. Her work identified the need for an independent and robust regulatory framework benchmarked against international standards and best practices; and her proposed regulatory reforms were accepted by the Government and continue to be pursued. Believing that women should be able to fully participate in society with due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life, Ms Kao holds the promotion of women’s well-being and interests close to her heart. As a founding member of the Women’s Commission since 2001, and its Chairperson from 2006 to 2012, she was instrumental in formulating the long-term strategic framework for the development and advancement of women in Hong Kong. Having championed and established numerous programmes that empower women, she is widely regarded as an iconic role model for women in Hong Kong. Ms Kao was bestowed Honourary Fellowships by Lingnan University, The Open University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2006, 2010 and 2011 respectively. She was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2003, and honoured with a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2009 by the Hong Kong SAR Government.

 

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Dr Simon Kwan Sin-ming - Doctorate of the Academy honoris causa Dr Simon Kwan Sin-ming has won fame as an architect, a designer, a painter, a connoisseur, a scholar and a teacher. Born in Hong Kong, Dr Kwan studied Architecture and Fine Arts at the University of Hong Kong, and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree in 1967 and a PhD degree in Fine Arts in 1989. In 1973 he set up his own company, Simon Kwan & Associates Ltd. In its 43 years of practice, the company has established a fine reputation for delivering exceptional design services, and has won many prizes and awards. Major projects include, of course, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong Science Park, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, many institutional buildings such as the Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre, the Police Headquarters and a number of hospital complexes and numerous residential and commercial complexes. The company’s buildings are well known in architectural circles around the world, and featured in publications such as 581 Architects of the World, published in Japan. Dr Kwan and his company have won numerous awards for their work. Many of the institutional projects undertaken by Simon Kwan and Associates resulted from their winning architectural design competitions. The firm has also gained awards from the Architectural Services Department and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and other institutes in green and sustainable architecture. In tribute to his outstanding contribution to architecture, Dr Kwan was awarded the Artist of the Year Award by the Hong Kong Artists’ Guild in 1989. In 1999, he was elected a Fellow of the University of Hong Kong. In 2004, he became an Honorary University Fellow of the Open University of Hong Kong. Dr Kwan’s love of beauty extends beyond architecture. He is also a painter, and a dedicated researcher and scholar in the field of Chinese art and design. He has written many papers and delivered many lectures on Chinese art at universities and institutions both in Hong Kong and abroad. He has served as adviser and committee member to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong University Museum, and the Chinese University Museum and Art Gallery for more than 20 years. His publications on Chinese Arts include Chinese gold ornaments, brush and clay, early Chinese glass, Chinese lacquer, Chinese portraits, Chinese jades, ivories, ceramics, and inkstones. Dr Kwan’s design emphasises functionality and efficiency, spatial quality and aesthetics, while also placing emphasis on the application of advanced technology. In recent years, his company has concentrated on the study and hands-on application of building energy efficiency and environmental protection. The company has won numerous green building honours for its projects, including the Green Building Award, Sustainable Design Award, and Energy Efficient Building Award.

 

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Dr Kwan was awarded the commission to design The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1981, and his design won the Annual Award of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects after the Academy’s completion in 1985. The design of the Academy became one of his signature projects, and is cited in the 20th edition of Banister Fletcher’s classic textbook A History of Architecture. The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is the only piece of architecture in Hong Kong that features in the prestigious Complete Book of Chinese Modern Art.

 

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Ms Bonni Chan - Honorary Fellowship Ms Bonni Chan was born and raised on the outlying Island and community of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong. At the age of thirteen, after a chanced occasion seeing Swan Lake on film, she set off on what would become a lifelong journey of enquiry into the arts. She began to learn dance herself through whatever books she could find in libraries, and put her early ideas into practice by “choreographing” for her friends. After auditioning, she won a scholarship to the Hong Kong Academy of Ballet, the territory’s first professional dance training school where she studied classical ballet and modern dance. She also spent time in the summer school at the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Around this time she also began to be fascinated by the language and form of drama, as she joined the drama courses held in the Academy’s dance studio in evenings. In the year in which she graduated from the Dance Academy, she was accepted as one of the 15 students chosen for the first year of the School of Drama of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. There she went on receiving the Best Actress award for three consecutive years of study. In 1992, after working with various teachers in Europe for two years, Ms Chan co-founded Theatre du Pif with Sean Curran in Scotland. The company was dedicated to theatre training, and focused on the creation of new original works that fused text and physicality, and were intended to speak to, inspire and move the audience. She spent seven summers working with the WHALE Community Arts Centre, an underprivileged area’s local community arts initiative, and this experience enabled her to witness the power of transformation in the participants through the arts. In 2000, the company was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council to create a production that celebrated Scotland’s cultural diversity. The company’s production Fish Heads and Tales – A Tender War based on the songs of Belgium balladeer Jacques Brel, and its adaptation of the Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat were awarded five stars at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since relocating Theatre du Pif to Hong Kong in 1995, Ms Chan has conceived and directed more than 30 original pieces of theatre, which have been acclaimed for their power and poetry. Theatre du Pif was quoted as “operating at the cutting edge of modern theatre” and “the most innovative and cross-culturally aware theatre company in Hong Kong”. Her performance in Fish Heads and Tales - A Tender War, and in The Oak Tree - An Odyssey won her two Hong Kong Drama Federation Best Actress awards. The Hong Kong Theatre Libre voted her Best Actress of the Year for her performance in 4.48 Psychosis - A Stage Reading.

 

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One of the most memorable of the company’s overseas tours was its visit to the Shanghai Expo in 2010, when it performed the verbatim theatre piece The Will to Build as the Expo’s highlight programme. The piece was based on research into living spaces in Hong Kong and drew on numerous interviews with architects, city planners, students, government officials, activists, cage dwellers, Fung Shui masters and a multitude of Hong Kong residents. Although the piece explored issues particularly relevant to Hong Kong, its message also resonated with the audience in Shanghai, a city also developing at an alarming speed. In 2014, Ms Chan founded the Actors Lab as a base for performing artists in Hong Kong to hone their crafts and share ideas. It is a space where actors from different backgrounds and generations work, share and learn from each other away from production routines. The Chekhov’s Garden 2014 and Cross Canvas 2015 gatherings were warmly celebrated, and still in their fermentation among the theatre circles. In 2005, after studying with Miriam Pfeffer in Paris for four years, Ms Chan became one of the first professional Feldenkrais practitioners in Hong Kong. She hopes to dedicate more time in the years ahead to research and sharing the knowledge of the Feldenkrais Method with the local performing artists, sharing the inspiration pacing towards both skill excellence and innovation.

 

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Mr Adam Cheng Chong-sai - Honorary Fellowship Mr Adam Cheng Chong-sai, born in Guangdong, discovered his passion for acting when he was young. In the 1960s, he was admitted to an acting course organised by a movie studio at the age of 16, and later joined Kun Fong Drama Troupe. In 1966, he participated in the Hong Kong Drama Competition, in which he won the Best Actor Award for his performance in Lost My Way. He was soon signed up by Kin Shing Movie Studio, and embarked on his performing career.

Mr Cheng joined TVB in 1970. He was initially assigned as a singer to perform in music programmes, and he released his debut album in 1971. Shortly afterwards, he started appearing in drama series. In 1973, Mr Cheng played his first leading role in Romance in the Rain, and also sang its theme song. This was the first time that a TVB drama series had a theme song of its own.

In 1976, Mr Cheng starred in TVB’s first long costume sword-play drama Book and Sword, in which he played a total of three roles (Chan Ka-lok, Chien Lung and Fuk Hong-on), each of which had its own different and distinctive personality. His brilliant performance in this challenging trilogy was pivotal to his career, earning him enormous popularity. Since then, he has starred in several more classics of this genre, including Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, Luk Siu-fung and Chor Lau-heung, establishing his well-mannered and genuine knight errant screen image. His decent and handsome look in period costume has captured the audience’s imagination.

Besides acting in costume sword-play dramas, Mr Cheng has also starred in many other well-received drama series, such as Vanity Fair, The Great Vendetta, Five Easy Pieces, The Final Verdict, The Greed of Man, Instinct and Cold Blood Warm Heart. He has brought many memorable characters to life on the television screen, playing businessmen, gentry and commoners with equal facility. One of his most memorable roles was that of the epic character Ding Hai in The Greed of Man, who was depicted as an insane stock market investor. Contrasting completely with his gentle screen image, this villain role went down a storm with the local audience, and became the talk of the town. The drama series, which was set against the backdrop of Hong Kong stock market, established itself as a classic in local television history, and became a household word.

Mr Cheng has appeared in over 70 local television drama series, 25 overseas television drama series and 65 movies. He is acclaimed as much for his singing as for his acting. He has sung numerous theme songs for drama series and has released dozens of albums. Mr Cheng also has a flair for dance. He has given several concerts and has performed with great success in musicals such as Cryano de Bergerac, The Dark Tales and Only You. Mr Cheng’s versatility, charisma and amicability are keys to his distinguished career.

 

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A tireless learner, and gifted in many fields, Mr Cheng is a legendary actor and singer with a flair for mastering both ancient and modern characters. In 1971, Mr Cheng was named one of its Top Ten Television Stars by Overseas Chinese Daily News. Later in his career, he won numerous television and music awards. In 2006, he was awarded The Golden Needle Award at RTHK’s Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. In 2012, he received The IFPI Hong Kong 45th Anniversary Hall of Fame Award.

 

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Mr Cecil S C Leong - Honorary Fellowship Mr Cecil S C Leong is Chairman of Henry G Leong Estates Limited, a family company that manages commercial real estates. He runs his real estate business in Hong Kong as well as overseas. Mr Leong has a keen interest in singing and has been an ardent music enthusiast for many years. Music is also prominent in his home, as his children and grandchildren have distinguished themselves on different instruments and vocal performances. As a music lover, Mr Leong has generously organised and participated in a number of charitable occasions to raise funds for the Academy students. His first involvement was back in 2005 when he organised the Michael Rippon Memorial Concert in memory of his vocal coach Mr Michael Rippon, the then Head of Vocal Studies of the Academy, who passed away because of cancer. A series of Friends for Life Fundraising Concerts were subsequently organised in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Throughout these years, he has raised more than HK$4.7 million for the Academy. Apart from paying for all the costs of producing the concerts, Mr Leong has personally participated and performed in these concerts. In order to raise sufficient funds, he cultivated his own network and asked many of his friends to support his fundraising move. The funds raised in 2005 and 2011 went to the Michael Rippon Memorial Scholarship for vocal students. Subsequently, Mr Leong established his own Cecil Leong Scholarships in 2013 and these scholarships have benefited both undergraduates and postgraduates across the six departments under the School of Music.

 

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Mr Xing Liang - Honorary Fellowship Born in Beijing, Mr Xing Liang graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy in 1991, winning the Gold Prize in the junior and senior sections respectively of the Tao Li Bei Competition. In 1991 and 1992 he was the principal dancer in the Youth Division of the Beijing Dance Academy, and in 1993 he joined the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in 1993. He is currently an independent choreographer.

Mr Xing has won numerous awards, including the Gold Award in the Male Solo Class at the 6th Paris International Dance Competition in 1994, and the Gold Award in the Modern Dance Section at the 8th Paris International Dance Competition in 1998 for his work I Want to Fly. He was named one of the Top Ten National Performers in 1996, and Star of the Century by the Guangdong Provincial Government in 1997. He also received the Hong Kong Dance Alliance Award for his performance in Ju Dou in 1999. Other distinctions include the Silver Award in the Modern Dance Section at the 1st Italy International Dance Competition for his work Night of Dancer, and the 2nd Class Award in Choreography at the 5th National Competition in 2001. Further recognitions from Hong Kong Dance Alliance Award came in 2004 and 2006, and more recently in 2011 for 6 Degrees (for Outstanding Production), and in 2013 for Thunderstorm (for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography - in collaboration with 2013 Academy Honorary Fellow Ms Mui Cheuk-yin). He also received the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Award for Outstanding Young Artist in Dance in 2007, and the award for Best Artist (Dance) in 2011.

Mr Xing has also made his mark internationally as a choreographer. He was invited to participate in the International Choreographers Residency Programme in the international American Dance Festival in 1996, and his work Chamber was performed in the 1999 Beijing-Hong Kong Modern Dance Festival. His work 180° was performed at the Holland Dance Festival in 2001, and in Vancouver in 2003 by the Goh Ballet, during its 25th Anniversary celebrations. More recently he has choreographed for the Singapore Dance Theatre, T.H.E in Singapore, The University of Queensland in Australia, Expressions Dance Company in Australia, Codarts University (Rotterdam Dance Academy) in Netherlands, Taipei National University of the Arts, Shenyang Conservatory of Music in the Mainland, Guangdong Modern Dance Company in the Mainland, Jiangsu Dance and Opera Theatre in the Mainland, and Guangzhou Soldier Acrobatic Troupe in the Mainland.

Mr Xing has given his time and artistry generously to the Academy’s School of Dance. He has created several works for its major dance seasons, including Life, Death and the Twilight (May 2007); Out of Nowhere (May 2011); and the very successful cross-stream work The point beyond which… (May 2013). Due to the unexpected unavailability of contracted choreographer Mr Zhao Tiechun, Mr Xing kindly stepped in at short notice, and agreed to rework his Life, Death and the Twilight for the Chinese Dance stream for the School’s May season Point of Departure last year (2015). Most recently, Mr Xing was

 

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invited to recreate The point beyond which… on a new cross-stream ensemble to perform at the July 2016 World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Dance Festival and Conference, and the 2016 Daegu International Choreography Festival in Korea. There is little doubt that the dancers gained a great deal from this experience. Mr Xing’s commitment to his student dancers as a teacher and artistic mentor has always been exceptional. He gives time well beyond that scheduled, and leads them on an exciting journey of exploration and discovery, not only as artists but also as individuals. Mr Xing has also contributed generously to the School’s programmes both as a guest teacher and as an examiner, most recently in the 2016 January Winter Term, where he was guest teacher for the Chinese Dance stream. Here again, rather than delivering technique as a purely skills-based enterprise, he placed it in a wider aesthetic, historical and cultural context, thereby broadening the students’ experience and understanding of their art form. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, his excellence in teaching, his contribution to the artistic standing of the School, and his consistent involvement and support, Mr Xing was named Dean of Dance Master Artist for 2013/14.

 

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Mr Yau Sing-po - Honorary Fellowship Born in Guangzhou in 1934, Mr Yau Sing-po is one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed Cantonese opera performing artists in modern times. His father Mr Yau King-hung was a renowned Cantonese opera performer of the dan (female) role-type. The Yau family, whose place of origin is Shunde, moved to northern Guangdong during the Sino-Japanese War, and it was during that time that Mr Yau discovered his passion for acting. He soon made his debut on the Cantonese opera stage at the young age of nine, and he had the opportunities to perform with veteran artists early in his budding career, including Sheung Ngor-ying, Kwan Tak-hing, Tsz Hau-hoi and Sheh Tzai-ying. Mr Yau studied both the dan and the sheng (male) roles under Chan Siu-hap. Before the 1960s, Mr Yau specialised in the wenwusheng (civil and military male), and toured around South East Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. He has also given performances in the United States with the noted dan performer Kwan Ying-lin. In the 1960s and the 1970s, Mr Yau joined numerous professional troupes such as Aroma, Sunma, Bik Wan Tin, Fung Kau Wong, Tai Hung To, Mun Tong Hung, Sun Fung Wong, Sun Lung Fung, Chung San Sing and Tai Lung Fung. He worked with many esteemed veteran artists, including Leung Sing-po, Sun Ma Sze-tsang, Tang Bik-wan, Mak Bing-wing and Fung Wong-nui. In the 1960s, at the suggestion of Leung Sing-po, the “King of the Chou” (clown), Mr Yau switched his focus to studying the clown role. He also widened his repertoire to include the role-types of the senior male, the military male and the painted face. Mr Yau’s full comprehension of all major Cantonese opera roles made him stand out as a uniquely versatile performing artist embodying the best of all schools. Mr Yau’s training was not limited to Cantonese opera. He was coached by celebrated Peking opera artist Li Wanchun, a legendary northern school Money King performer. Mr Yau also continually refined his art in performing the male warrior role by studying acrobatic movement and skills under Liu Xun, a “close combat military male” Peking opera actor. Mr Yau’s art in performing the warrior is profound and expansive at once. In addition to preserving the tradition of Cantonese opera, Mr Yau also pushed for breakthroughs. In his 30s, Mr Yau co-founded the Group of Hong Kong Experimental Cantonese Opera in 1971 with his peers, including Yuen Siu-fai and Li Chi-kei, aiming to explore new directions in Cantonese opera. The group actively wrote new stories and adapted classical plays for actors to experiment with, thus contributing to revitalising the Cantonese opera industry. It also encouraged actors to participate in the production process, and Mr Yau took the opportunity to try directing. Since then, Mr Yau has become interested in the creative process and production management, and has been expanding his horizons beyond acting. In 1997, Mr Yau was commissioned by the then Provisional

 

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Regional Council to produce Li Bai: The Immortal Poet. In 1999, he organised Cantonese Opera – An All-Star Night for the Hong Kong Arts Festival. In 2000, he adapted Shakespeare’s King Lear into a Cantonese opera production King Liguang, which was subsequently re-run for several times. Mr Yau has made significant contribution to the development and advancement of various role-types in Cantonese opera. In the 1980s, Mr Yau had a long standing partnership with the Chor Fung Ming Cantonese Opera Troupe where he mainly performed the clown and the male warrior roles. During his affiliation with the Lai Kwan Cantonese Opera Troupe, he charmed his audience with his talents in mastering multiple roles. For instance, Mr Yau performed different roles such as the male warrior, the old female and the clown in different programmes for the troupe’s second season. Although romantic love story of the scholar and the beauty, played by the young male and female roles was the mainstream at that time, Mr Yau dared to go against the trend and found his niche in other role-types. In the rendition of Farewell My Concubine specially tailored for Mr Yau, he played the role of the painted face. Despite the rarity of plays for the painted face at that time, the performance won great popularity, proving that plays led by the red male warrior roles in Cantonese opera other than the young male and female could be just as appealing and captivating. Mr Yau’s bold vision and tireless efforts have undoubtedly extended the artistic frontier of Cantonese opera. In the 1980s and 1990s, Mr Yau’s skills in performing the clown and the male warrior roles were honed to a sharp edge and he was regarded by many as an exemplar. In Prime Minister of Six States, which was staged at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in 1989 and the Cantonese Opera – An All-Star Night in 1999, Mr Yau played Kung-suen Hin to great acclaim, and since then he has often been compared to Lan Chi-pat, a consummate actor who was widely known as “Master of the Male Warrior Roles”. Mr Yau’s portrayal of Cao Cao in other productions also marked a zenith of his career. As a prolific and dedicated performer, Mr Yau has been actively engaged in major public Cantonese opera events since the 1990s in addition to the countless performances he staged with troupes such as Hing Fung Ming, Ming Chee Sing, Ho Siu Nin, Seung Hei and Kim Sun Sing. In 1997, Mr Yau performed in Seven Filial Kins which was presented by The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong as a celebration of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR. In 1999, Mr Yau was invited by the association again to participate in its Hong Kong International Cantonese Opera Festival Showcase. In 2010, Mr Yau starred in The Imperial Emperor of Heaven Holding Court and Towering Legends of the Three Kingdoms at the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Treasures event during World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China. In 2013, Art of Cantonese Opera launched a Yau Sing-po Series to celebrate its 5th anniversary, during which Mr Yau staged Madame She and Corruption Reported to the Emperor. Besides, Mr Yau was a frequent performer for the Leisure and Cultural Service Department’s annual Chinese Opera Festival from 2011 to 2016. He has also been repeatedly invited to participate in the Hong Kong Arts Festival since 1993, and their latest collaboration was in 2016 – Mr Yau, at the age of 82, was commissioned to put

 

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on stage his 20-year signature piece Li Bai: The Immortal Poet, telling the glorious yet elegiac story of lyrical genius Li Bai. Mr Yau’s total dedication to Cantonese opera and his meritorious achievement are highly recognised. In 1992, he was awarded the Best Stage Performer Award by the Hong Kong Artists’ Guild for his distinguished accomplishment. In 2009, Mr Yau received the Medal of Honour from the Hong Kong SAR Government in recognition of his notable contribution to the development of Cantonese opera.

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