Wang Renman Ballet School "Rising Stars 2024 - Cinderella" Extravaganza Hong Kong Reproduction Classic

Organized by the Wong Chun Fong Memorial Scholarship, the "Tomorrow's Star 2024 - Cinderella" extravaganza was successfully held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from August 17 to 18. As the graduation ceremony of the "Hong Kong International Summer Dance Course", the performance combined the ballet skills taught in the course with the family-known story of "Cinderella", which is also a classic reproduction of the Wang Renman Ballet School after a decade of performance of "Cinderella" in 2014.

At the same time, the performance also invited Lin Junyong, the winner of the Special Art Award of the 2018 Varna International Ballet Competition, as a special guest. Lin Junyong is the only Chinese student and the first dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet in the more than 300 years since its establishment. This performance is also the first public performance of Lin Junyong in Hong Kong after his triumphant return.

Nurturing countless outstanding talents, Wang Renman Ballet School helps more children achieve their ballet dreams

Founded in 1960, Wang Renman Ballet School has cultivated more than 100,000 students in 64 years and enjoys a high reputation in the international ballet community. Excellent teachers and professional training have enabled countless students to achieve outstanding achievements. To recognize outstanding students, the Wang Zhenfang Scholarship was established in 1973 and was officially revised to the Wang Zhenfang Memorial Scholarship in 1983 to commemorate the late father of Principal Wang Renman. Wang Renman Ballet School is the brainchild of Principal Wang Renman. At the end of 2023, Wang Renman Ballet School Fund Co., Ltd. was officially established to allow more children and young people in the society to come into contact with ballet and continue the spirit of ballet.

Wang Renman BBS, FRAD, FHKAPA obtained a Senior Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance in 1959 and became a Fellow of the Royal Association of Dance Teachers. In 1965, Wang Renman was qualified as an examiner of the Royal Academy of Dance, becoming the first Chinese examiner of the Royal Ballet Academy. In 2007, Wang Renman was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in recognition of her commitment to promoting the development of the arts. In 2010, she was awarded a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance, the highest honor awarded by the Royal Academy of Dance in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the development of dance arts. Recently, Wang Renman was awarded the Outstanding Artistic Contribution Award at the 17th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2023. Deeply passionate about ballet, she founded the first Wang Renman Ballet School in 1960, and her daughter Chen Jingyi is now a director of the ballet school. Chen Jingyi, who studied architecture in the United States, originally planned to pursue a career in architecture, but after ten years of dance studies at the Wang Renman Ballet School and majoring in art history during college, she has always had a strong interest in art. Therefore, she has joined the Wang Renman Ballet School as a director since 2002 and is also a member of the board of directors of the Hong Kong Ballet Society. She believes that architecture and ballet have the same effect. Architecture is about turning an idea into reality, and ballet is about training children to achieve an art. Both require persistence.

Chen Jingyi, who has more than 20 years of experience in ballet education, hopes that Wang Renman Ballet School will become the best ballet school in Hong Kong, creating a comprehensive learning platform for the next generation, and shaping children's perseverance from ballet. She said with a smile: "I remember a parent who came to thank us, because ballet has cultivated children's perseverance personality, even if they study difficult medical subjects, they will not give up easily, and they are very able to endure hardships." She believes that ballet is an art, and through ballet, they can cultivate children's positive perseverance character, which makes her very satisfied.

Outstanding alumni return triumphantly, the first Chinese student of the Paris Opera Ballet, Lin Junyong, performs in Hong Kong for the first time

Founded for more than half a century, Wang Renman Ballet School has nurtured countless outstanding students, including the winner of the "Wang Zhenfang Memorial Scholarship Margaux Fontaine Award" from 2016 to 2019, Jeremy Chen, who studied at the Royal Ballet Academy and achieved excellent results in the world-renowned International Dance Competition Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), Wu Yulie, artistic director of CCDC City Contemporary Dance Company, celebrities Zheng Peipei, Zhang Tianai, etc. The most impressive Lin Junyong, who started classes at the Wang Renman Ballet School at the age of 7, is the winner of the "Wang Zhenfang Memorial Scholarship Margaux Fontaine Award" from 2011 to 2015. He went to the Paris Opera Ballet School for further study with the support of scholarships. He is the first Hong Kong ballet dancer to win the Special Artistic Award at the 2018 Varna International Ballet Competition, which is the equivalent of the Olympic Games in the ballet world and enjoys a prestigious reputation. Lam Chun-wing was even selected in the annual internal selection competition organized by the Paris Opera Ballet in 2021. He won the first place among 12 contestants. He was promoted from his original position as a group dancer to a group dancer (only two places per year), and was promoted to a soloist in 2024. Lam Chun-wing is the only Chinese student and the first dancer to be admitted to the Paris Opera Ballet in the more than 300 years since its establishment. This year, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, Lin Junyong returned in triumph and performed in Hong Kong for the first time as a special guest in the performance of "Tomorrow's Star 2024 - Cinderella".

After a decade of classic reappearance, the "Star of Tomorrow 2024 - Cinderella" show will be held for two consecutive days

Organized by the Wong Chun Fong Memorial Scholarship, the "Star of Tomorrow 2024 - Cinderella" extravaganza was successfully held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from August 17th to 18th. Professor Leung Ka-kit, Deputy Dean (Teaching) of the Li Ka-shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong and Clinical Professor of the Department of Surgery of the School of Clinical Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, was invited to officiate, and gathered more than 700 performers and 3,400 live audiences. The lineup was a great success! As the graduation ceremony performance of the "Hong Kong International Summer Dance Course", the performance combined the ballet skills taught in the course and the family-known story of "Cinderella", which is a classic reproduction of the ten-year absence of the Wang Renman Ballet School after the performance of "Cinderella" in 2014. The school is proud to let parents witness the growth of their children through childlike and profound fairy tales. This year, the re-engraved classic performances have been sublimated in various aspects such as choreography and music arrangement. The male protagonist Chen Junyan and the female protagonist Ye Zhijue play the prince and princess in the story respectively. The two have been strictly screened by a group of tutors and have been the winners of the Wang Zhenfang Memorial Scholarship in the past three years. In addition, Lin Junyong, a special guest of the Paris Opera Ballet, and his French female companion Hortense Maurin, also from the Paris Opera Ballet, performed together. The high-level performances brought the audience a wonderful visual and auditory feast. The exquisite dance was breathtaking, and the audience applauded like thunder! All proceeds from the performance will be donated to the Wang Zhenfang Memorial Scholarship after deducting the cost to nurture the next generation of ballet dancers.

The two-day "Star of Tomorrow 2024 - Cinderella" extravaganza brought audiences a wonderful visual and auditory feast

The classic scenes are presented to the audience without reservation

Alumnus of Wang Renman Ballet School and soloist of the Paris Opera Ballet, Lin Junyong, performs in public for the first time in Hong Kong

We also invited the soloist of the Paris Opera Ballet, Otans Miller Moran, to perform with Lin Junyong

To enhance the level of local ballet, Hong Kong International Summer Dance Program

The annual Hong Kong International Summer Dance Program (ISDS) of Wang Renman Ballet School is a key course every year. Professional foreign tutors are specially invited to Hong Kong for cultural exchange and teaching, so that students can appreciate the cultural heritage of Europe, and a group of students who are keen on ballet can undertake international standards and expand their international horizons. This year, a total of five senior ballet tutors and choreographers from all over the world, including Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and other countries, were invited. One of the key tutors, Alfonso Palencia, is from Spain and is the ballet director and chief choreographer of the Stadttheater Bremerhaven in Germany.