Faye Leung (dancer)

Faye was born in Shanghai as the only child of a writer and a former businesswoman. She started dancing at the age of four years 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". == Career ==

Faye joined the Hong Kong Ballet 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. 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). 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. 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". In September 2009, she appeared in a music video for the new single "1+1" of local singer Jonathan Wong Chee Hynn (王梓軒). , 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. == References ==