Faye Leung
Encyclopedia
Faye Leung was the senior principal dancer
of the Hong Kong Ballet
(HKB) from 1996 to 2008. She speaks fluent English
, Cantonese and Mandarin. She appeared in many leading roles, in such classic works as Swan Lake
, The Nutcracker
, Cinderella
, Romeo and Juliet
and The Merry Widow
.
, China
, the only child of a writer and a former businesswoman. She started dancing at four years old and was soon recruited by the Shanghai Junior Academy of Arts for further ballet training. At ten, she joined and trained at the Shanghai Ballet School. In 1995, Faye won a special award and First Prize in the Shanghai International Ballet Competition (Teenage Group) as well as a scholarship acknowledging her outstanding ballet technique, unique presentation style and musical talent. She represented China on tours to North Korea
and the United States
.
In 1999, she entered the "Marie Claire Best Model Competition", and won the "Best PN Look" and "Colour 18 Girls" awards. And in 2002 she was listed in Eve Magazine as one of "Eve’s 10 Most Envied Women".
in October 1996, after completing her scholarship in 1995-1996, and was promoted to principal dancer
in the 2001 season and senior principal in 2005.
Faye has danced all the leads in the classics, including Swan Lake
, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle
, The Nutcracker
and Romeo and Juliet
. A variety of choreographers have also created roles specially for her, such as Princess Jade in Legend of the Great Archer, Valeria in Spartacus (Irek Mukhamadov), Lady White in The White Snake (Domy Reiter-Soffer) and roles in Tango Ballet Tango (Stephen Jefferies
), Turandot (Natalie Weir
), and Dreams of Tenderness and Solitude (David Allan
).
In 2004, she was invited to perform at the Shanghai International Ballet Competition and the International Ballet Festival of Miami. In 2005, she was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse
for her characterization of Princess Jade in Legend of the Great Archer and performed The Nutcracker pas de deux
at the Gala performance at the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow
. In August 2005, she danced at the Ballet Festival in Vail, Colorado
.
, and which marked HKB's 30th anniversary.
She was advised of the dismissal by board member Linda Fung, who said it was a board decision. When she asked why she was being dismissed, Leung says Fung told her that the board felt she and the company were "going in different directions".
Leung was HKB's longest-serving member (having joined in 1996) as well as its most senior ballerina. She remained loyal to the company through difficult times despite the fact that her talent could easily have permitted her to move overseas. Strikingly attractive, she has turned down offers of acting and modelling contracts (a big deal in Hong Kong) to remain dedicated to ballet. She is highly professional and a team player who has been prepared to perform despite injuries, take supporting roles when asked to and work with a succession of different partners whom she has helped to groom and develop. She is extremely popular with local audiences and has often represented HKB in galas overseas. No explanation has been made yet about Faye's dismissal, audience and supporters of her and the ballet industry still remain in misery.
Leung, who has said she has "done nothing wrong" then retracted a termination agreement she feels was signed under duress, and is asking for a proper explanation of her dismissal.
After the dismissal, Leung broke her usual silence and became more open to media attention. In its January 2010 issue, local cultural magazine Muse
published an in-depth interview with Leung regarding this difficult period in her career.
for the new single "1+1" of local singer
Jonathan Wong Chee Hynn (王梓軒).
As of 2011, she is the lead actress in The House of Dancing Water, a water-based show in City of Dreams
, Macau, directed by Franco Dragone
(Cirque du Soleil
, Celine Dion: A New Day
). The show includes high-caliber acrobats from all over the world. Leung plays a princess who is captured by an 'Evil Queen' character.
South China Morning Post
by Edwin Lung (March 29, 2005)
"Nobuo fujino and Faye Leung danced outstandingly well as the Nutcracker Prince and grown up Clara - his impeccably - landed double tours en I'air and her double fouettes in the grand pas de deux were particularly impressive, as was their execution of the many lifes."
www.ballet.co.uk by Natash Rogai (January 2005)
"With their Nutcraker pas de deux, Hong Kong Ballet's Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo supplied the evening's knock-your-socks-off finale -- and a superb example of creating a unified, coherent aesthetic effect."
International Ballet Festival Gala Highlights by Tony Guzman (September 24, 2004)
"The dancers were under a fair amount of pressure as cloing the programme is an honour and usually reserved for the most impressive number. I am happy to report that they danced magnificently. At the end of the coda there was an audible gasp before the audience broke out into spontaneous applause. They received a standing ovation. The comments on the choreography ( Stephen Jefferies ) and dancing were all very positive. Most refreshing to here what great CLASSICAL dancers came from the HK Ballet ! Astonishing for me to hear all this praise when our at home critic does nothing but criticise ! The Turandot pas de deux at the second performance was also well received as by now Faye and Nobby were the audience favourites. the comments were that it was wonderful to see how such classical dancers could also move so wel in a contemporary/neo classical piece."
Rashna Homji (September 20, 2004)
"I remember in 1997 sitting up and saying ...Who IS that girl?... the moment she stepped on stage. It is always exciting to spot a young dancer of outstanding talent and watch them develop over the years ... often there are disappointments, but Leung, a long-limbed dancer of effortless extensions and creamy plastique, has more than fulfilled her promise. It was fascinating to see her again in what was her first major role - in the scene where she tries to get her morose husband and fellow-wife to dance with her to Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, she simply lights up the stage. "
www.ballet.co.uk by NatashaR on The Last Emperor (September 18, 2004)
"... European and Asian artist had big success but the surprise of the evening was the couple Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo from Hong Kong Ballet. Their perfection was incomparable and they deserve the standup ovation give by the audience."
Roger Salas on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 16, 2004)
"... The most glorious classical performance of the evening came from the Hong Kong Ballet's Fujino Nobuo and Leung Fei, in a version of The Nutcracker choreographed by the company's artistic director Stephen Jeffries. Nobuo's leaps were as awe-inspiring as they were effortless while Fei personified beauty even as she executed a dozen perfect pirouettes in a row at breakneck speed."
The Herald (Miami) by Celeste Fraser Delgado on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 16, 2004)
"... But the best of classical ideals -- so right and light -- came from Hong Kong Ballet's Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo, in a freshly tuned up Nutcracker love duet."
Sun Sentinal by Guillermo Perez on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 15, 2004)
"Act one’s fifty minutes features a beautiful pas de deux in scene two by Faye Leung and Han Po. Prima ballerina Leung produces excellent extension and Po provides excellent life support."
A Rapturous Affair in The Green Room Dance Critic (San Jose) by Daniel G. Lam on Great Archer (May 19, 2004)
"... On the opening night, Faye Leung was graceful in the leading role of Clara. In the Act 2 pas de deux, Leung danced with a steely strength but without much radiance."
South China Morning Post by Kevin Ng on Nutcraker (December, 2003)
"... particularly memorable was a bouncy trio and the second lyrical duet, which was well danced by Faye Leung and Nobuo Fujino."
South China Morning Post by Kevin Ng on Ballet Extravaganza (May 30, 2003)
"In the Hong Kong Ballet production, Faye Leung, a lovely dancer with an exquisite classical line, reprised her Princess Aurora role for the second or third time. As Princess Aurora, Leung (Fei)... shine splendidly in the third act grand pas de deux. With the Act II introduction of her handsome Prince Charming, I was convinced that Hong Kong Ballet had come of age as a company that could withstand the rigors of the classic repertoire. The climatic event of Sleeping Beauty is Prince Florimund and Princess Aurora’s grand pas de deux. In this production it was extremely well crafted from somewhat standard material. The interpretation by the two principals had an air of confidence, and with their excellent dancing it would be not look out of place on any of the world’s great opera house stages. Leung grew in self-assurance and skill throughout the ballet from her initial entrance in Act I, and performed this final duet with radiance. Her solo and coda were executed with technical precision and provided and opportunity to display here striking classical line... This was the best dancing I think I’d seen from either of these fine artists."
Dance Journal/HK by Graeme Collins on Sleeping Beauty (April 2002)
"Faye Leung’s lyric portrayal of Juliet transformation from bright-eyed innocent to grief-stricken lover is poetic and her technique strong and admirable... Romeo... His macabre pas de deux with the seemingly lifeless Juliet, followed by a similarly chilling dance by Leung, brings production to a deeply emotional conclusion."
South China Morning Post by Christopher Coleman on Romeo and Juliet (Jan 30, 2002)
"The high point the night however ... and certainly the most enthusiastically applauded set piece ... was the Arabian Dance performed by Fei Leung and Nobuo Fujino, whose performance would have been equally remarkable judged as ballet or gymnastics."
South China Morning Post
by Robin Lynam on The Nutcracker (Dec 19, 2001)
"Also worth noticing was a sinuous Arabian pas de deux by Leung Fai and Jason Wilcock. The pair made (Steven) Jefferies’ innovation and gruelling choreography their own, and were far and away the standout of the Act Two divertissmennts."
Sunday Morning Post by Jason Gagliardi on The Nutcracker (Dec 20, 1998)
"Leung Fei, as his (Pu Yi’s) Second Empress, has an innate lyricism visible even in this limited choreography."
Emperor's New Clothes in Newsday by Sylviane Gold on The Last Emperor (May 15, 1998)
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....
of the Hong Kong Ballet
Hong Kong Ballet
The Hong Kong Ballet is Hong Kong's leading professional ballet company, and also the famous group for Classical Ballet, since it founded in 1979....
(HKB) from 1996 to 2008. She speaks fluent English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Cantonese and Mandarin. She appeared in many leading roles, in such classic works as Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
and The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
.
Biography
Faye was born in ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the only child of a writer and a former businesswoman. She started dancing at four years old and was soon recruited by the Shanghai Junior Academy of Arts for further ballet training. At ten, she joined and trained at the Shanghai Ballet School. In 1995, Faye won a special award and First Prize in the Shanghai International Ballet Competition (Teenage Group) as well as a scholarship acknowledging her outstanding ballet technique, unique presentation style and musical talent. She represented China on tours to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1999, she entered the "Marie Claire Best Model Competition", and won the "Best PN Look" and "Colour 18 Girls" awards. And in 2002 she was listed in Eve Magazine as one of "Eve’s 10 Most Envied Women".
Career
Faye joined the Hong Kong BalletHong Kong Ballet
The Hong Kong Ballet is Hong Kong's leading professional ballet company, and also the famous group for Classical Ballet, since it founded in 1979....
in October 1996, after completing her scholarship in 1995-1996, and was promoted to principal dancer
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....
in the 2001 season and senior principal in 2005.
Faye has danced all the leads in the classics, including Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
and Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
. A variety of choreographers have also created roles specially for her, such as Princess Jade in Legend of the Great Archer, Valeria in Spartacus (Irek Mukhamadov), Lady White in The White Snake (Domy Reiter-Soffer) and roles in Tango Ballet Tango (Stephen Jefferies
Stephen Jefferies
Stephen Jefferies was a South African cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-fast bowler. Jefferies' career centred around his home country of South Africa, though in 1982 he briefly moved to England, subsequently playing for Derbyshire...
), Turandot (Natalie Weir
Natalie Weir
Natalie Weir is an Australian choreographer, currently Artistic Director for the Expressions Dance Company in Australia.-Education and career:...
), and Dreams of Tenderness and Solitude (David Allan
David Allan
David Allan was a Scottish painter, best known for historical subjects.He was born at Alloa in central Scotland. On leaving Foulis's academy of painting at Glasgow , after seven years' successful study, he obtained the patronage of Lord Cathcart and of Erskine of Mar, on whose estate he had been...
).
In 2004, she was invited to perform at the Shanghai International Ballet Competition and the International Ballet Festival of Miami. In 2005, she was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse
Prix Benois de la Danse
The Benois de la Danse is one of the most prestigious ballet competition. Founded by the International Dance Association in Moscow in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and is jury-based in its judging...
for her characterization of Princess Jade in Legend of the Great Archer and performed The Nutcracker pas de deux
Pas de deux
In ballet, a pas de deux is a duet in which ballet dancers perform the dance together. It usually consists of an entrée, adagio, two variations , and a coda.-Notable Pas de deux:...
at the Gala performance at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In August 2005, she danced at the Ballet Festival in Vail, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
2009 dismissal from Hong Kong Ballet
Leung was dismissed from the Hong Kong Ballet with immediate effect on the evening of Friday 23 January 2009. She was in rehearsal for the "All Bach" mixed bill programme which was to be held in three weeks at the Hong Kong Arts FestivalHong Kong Arts Festival
Hong Kong Arts Festival , founded in 1973, is a focus programmes for the Culture of Hong Kong, in order to provides a wide range of art programmes from all over the world....
, and which marked HKB's 30th anniversary.
She was advised of the dismissal by board member Linda Fung, who said it was a board decision. When she asked why she was being dismissed, Leung says Fung told her that the board felt she and the company were "going in different directions".
Leung was HKB's longest-serving member (having joined in 1996) as well as its most senior ballerina. She remained loyal to the company through difficult times despite the fact that her talent could easily have permitted her to move overseas. Strikingly attractive, she has turned down offers of acting and modelling contracts (a big deal in Hong Kong) to remain dedicated to ballet. She is highly professional and a team player who has been prepared to perform despite injuries, take supporting roles when asked to and work with a succession of different partners whom she has helped to groom and develop. She is extremely popular with local audiences and has often represented HKB in galas overseas. No explanation has been made yet about Faye's dismissal, audience and supporters of her and the ballet industry still remain in misery.
Leung, who has said she has "done nothing wrong" then retracted a termination agreement she feels was signed under duress, and is asking for a proper explanation of her dismissal.
After the dismissal, Leung broke her usual silence and became more open to media attention. In its January 2010 issue, local cultural magazine Muse
Muse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...
published an in-depth interview with Leung regarding this difficult period in her career.
Career after the Hong Kong Ballet
In August 2009, Leung appeared as guest artist in HKB's Cinderella as a "farewell performance". In September 2009, she appeared in a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the new single "1+1" of local singer
Music of Hong Kong
The Music of Hong Kong is an eclectic mixture of traditional and popular genres. Cantopop is one of the more prominent genres of music produced in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta regularly perform western classical music in the city...
Jonathan Wong Chee Hynn (王梓軒).
As of 2011, she is the lead actress in The House of Dancing Water, a water-based show in City of Dreams
City of Dreams (casino)
City of Dreams is a property along the Cotai Strip in the Cotai reclamation area in Macau built, owned and managed by Melco Crown Entertainment, formerly known as Melco PBL Entertainment. City of Dreams is Melco's second mega-sized property in Macau...
, Macau, directed by Franco Dragone
Franco Dragone
Franco Dragone is a Italian-Belgian theatre director. He is known for his work with Cirque du Soleil.-Early life:Dragone was born in Cairano, Italy, and moved to La Louvière, Belgium at age seven. In the 1970s, he studied theatre at the Belgian Royal Conservatory of Mons...
(Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
, Celine Dion: A New Day
A New Day...
A New Day... was a Las Vegas residency show performed by Céline Dion at the 4000-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It was created and directed by Franco Dragone and premiered on March 25, 2003...
). The show includes high-caliber acrobats from all over the world. Leung plays a princess who is captured by an 'Evil Queen' character.
Reviews
"The leading ladies fare well,Faye Leung as Valeria,has a lyrical quality in her dancing and makes a sensuous lover for Spartacus, especially in their pas de deux in 'imagination'."South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
by Edwin Lung (March 29, 2005)
"Nobuo fujino and Faye Leung danced outstandingly well as the Nutcracker Prince and grown up Clara - his impeccably - landed double tours en I'air and her double fouettes in the grand pas de deux were particularly impressive, as was their execution of the many lifes."
www.ballet.co.uk by Natash Rogai (January 2005)
"With their Nutcraker pas de deux, Hong Kong Ballet's Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo supplied the evening's knock-your-socks-off finale -- and a superb example of creating a unified, coherent aesthetic effect."
International Ballet Festival Gala Highlights by Tony Guzman (September 24, 2004)
"The dancers were under a fair amount of pressure as cloing the programme is an honour and usually reserved for the most impressive number. I am happy to report that they danced magnificently. At the end of the coda there was an audible gasp before the audience broke out into spontaneous applause. They received a standing ovation. The comments on the choreography ( Stephen Jefferies ) and dancing were all very positive. Most refreshing to here what great CLASSICAL dancers came from the HK Ballet ! Astonishing for me to hear all this praise when our at home critic does nothing but criticise ! The Turandot pas de deux at the second performance was also well received as by now Faye and Nobby were the audience favourites. the comments were that it was wonderful to see how such classical dancers could also move so wel in a contemporary/neo classical piece."
Rashna Homji (September 20, 2004)
"I remember in 1997 sitting up and saying ...Who IS that girl?... the moment she stepped on stage. It is always exciting to spot a young dancer of outstanding talent and watch them develop over the years ... often there are disappointments, but Leung, a long-limbed dancer of effortless extensions and creamy plastique, has more than fulfilled her promise. It was fascinating to see her again in what was her first major role - in the scene where she tries to get her morose husband and fellow-wife to dance with her to Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, she simply lights up the stage. "
www.ballet.co.uk by NatashaR on The Last Emperor (September 18, 2004)
"... European and Asian artist had big success but the surprise of the evening was the couple Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo from Hong Kong Ballet. Their perfection was incomparable and they deserve the standup ovation give by the audience."
Roger Salas on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 16, 2004)
"... The most glorious classical performance of the evening came from the Hong Kong Ballet's Fujino Nobuo and Leung Fei, in a version of The Nutcracker choreographed by the company's artistic director Stephen Jeffries. Nobuo's leaps were as awe-inspiring as they were effortless while Fei personified beauty even as she executed a dozen perfect pirouettes in a row at breakneck speed."
The Herald (Miami) by Celeste Fraser Delgado on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 16, 2004)
"... But the best of classical ideals -- so right and light -- came from Hong Kong Ballet's Leung Fei and Fujino Nobuo, in a freshly tuned up Nutcracker love duet."
Sun Sentinal by Guillermo Perez on Miami International Ballet Festival (September 15, 2004)
"Act one’s fifty minutes features a beautiful pas de deux in scene two by Faye Leung and Han Po. Prima ballerina Leung produces excellent extension and Po provides excellent life support."
A Rapturous Affair in The Green Room Dance Critic (San Jose) by Daniel G. Lam on Great Archer (May 19, 2004)
"... On the opening night, Faye Leung was graceful in the leading role of Clara. In the Act 2 pas de deux, Leung danced with a steely strength but without much radiance."
South China Morning Post by Kevin Ng on Nutcraker (December, 2003)
"... particularly memorable was a bouncy trio and the second lyrical duet, which was well danced by Faye Leung and Nobuo Fujino."
South China Morning Post by Kevin Ng on Ballet Extravaganza (May 30, 2003)
"In the Hong Kong Ballet production, Faye Leung, a lovely dancer with an exquisite classical line, reprised her Princess Aurora role for the second or third time. As Princess Aurora, Leung (Fei)... shine splendidly in the third act grand pas de deux. With the Act II introduction of her handsome Prince Charming, I was convinced that Hong Kong Ballet had come of age as a company that could withstand the rigors of the classic repertoire. The climatic event of Sleeping Beauty is Prince Florimund and Princess Aurora’s grand pas de deux. In this production it was extremely well crafted from somewhat standard material. The interpretation by the two principals had an air of confidence, and with their excellent dancing it would be not look out of place on any of the world’s great opera house stages. Leung grew in self-assurance and skill throughout the ballet from her initial entrance in Act I, and performed this final duet with radiance. Her solo and coda were executed with technical precision and provided and opportunity to display here striking classical line... This was the best dancing I think I’d seen from either of these fine artists."
Dance Journal/HK by Graeme Collins on Sleeping Beauty (April 2002)
"Faye Leung’s lyric portrayal of Juliet transformation from bright-eyed innocent to grief-stricken lover is poetic and her technique strong and admirable... Romeo... His macabre pas de deux with the seemingly lifeless Juliet, followed by a similarly chilling dance by Leung, brings production to a deeply emotional conclusion."
South China Morning Post by Christopher Coleman on Romeo and Juliet (Jan 30, 2002)
"The high point the night however ... and certainly the most enthusiastically applauded set piece ... was the Arabian Dance performed by Fei Leung and Nobuo Fujino, whose performance would have been equally remarkable judged as ballet or gymnastics."
South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
by Robin Lynam on The Nutcracker (Dec 19, 2001)
"Also worth noticing was a sinuous Arabian pas de deux by Leung Fai and Jason Wilcock. The pair made (Steven) Jefferies’ innovation and gruelling choreography their own, and were far and away the standout of the Act Two divertissmennts."
Sunday Morning Post by Jason Gagliardi on The Nutcracker (Dec 20, 1998)
"Leung Fei, as his (Pu Yi’s) Second Empress, has an innate lyricism visible even in this limited choreography."
Emperor's New Clothes in Newsday by Sylviane Gold on The Last Emperor (May 15, 1998)