Thailand 12 Oct - 15 Oct 2023
Singapore 28 Nov - 2 Dec 2023
Online 20 Oct - 30 Oct 2023
Albert Tiong
Dance Choreographer, Educator & Performer
Albert graduated from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts on full scholarship. He was a professional dancer with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Taiwan) and guest artist with Hong Kong Dance Company, resident Choreographer and training master for Frontier Danceland.
As a choreographer his works have been presented across many platforms including Singapore Arts Festival, NUS Arts Festival, M1 Fringe Festival, Esplanade da:ns Festival, M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival. He has also participated in dance exchanges programmes and performances in various countries including Colorado, Fukuoka, Macau, Shanghai, Busan, Beijing Dance Festival and Brisbane. He was invited multiple times to conduct academic exchanges with Beijing Dance Academy and Macau Academy of Performing Arts (Dance Academy).
Albert is now teaching at T.H.E Dance Company, NUS Dance Synergy and SCAPE.
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Alysson Rocha
Ballett Dortmund, Germany, First Ballet Master
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Alysson was a finalist at the YAGP in 2005 and received a scholarship to study at the San Francisco Ballet School. He later worked at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, performing classical repertoire from renowned choreographers such as Yelena Pankova, Sir Peter Wright, Enrique Martinez, and Dalal Achcar. From 2011-2013, he was coached by Pedro Kraszczuk and Cecilia Kerche, and concurrently served as the choreographer and artistic coordinator of "Dançar a Vida Youth Company" in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2013, he joined Ballett Dortmund in Germany, creating roles alongside his director Xin Peng Wang and performing pieces from William Forsythe, Alexander Ekman, Jiri Bubenicek, and Demis Volpi.
Recognized for his creative work, Alysson won the "Dortmunder Löwe 2019" prize for his "Silent Orchestra" dance/music project. He was later appointed as the First Ballet Master with Ballett Dortmund, where he assists and preserves the pieces from Ballett Dortmund's director, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, and other renowned choreographers.
Alysson was invited as a Teacher and at the YAGP Final in 2022. He was also invited by Prof. Dr. Alkis Raftis to become a member of the International Dance Council of UNESCO. Alysson's extensive experience and dedication to the art of dance make him a valuable asset in his role as an international teacher and judge.
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Brent Parolin
Ballett am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ballet Master, Rehearsal Director, Choreographic Assistant
Brent Parolin is a Canadian born dancer, teacher, coach and choreographer. Brent started his training as a student of the prestigious National Ballet School in Toronto where he received awards such as the Lawrence Haskett and Peter Dwyer Scholarships.
After graduation Brent moved to Stuttgart, Germany, to continue his training at the John Cranko School before joining the Stuttgart Ballet in 2006, where he attained the position of Halb Soloist. In 2014 Brent moved back to Toronto to dance with the National Ballet of Canada and to teach at Canada’s National Ballet School. Brent has danced works by John Cranko, Maurice Bejart, Wayne McGregor, Christian Spuck, Demis Volpi, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine, Crystal Pite and Marco Geocke among others.
Brent has been a teacher around the world, including Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. After creating multiple pieces for the Noverre: Junge Choreographen and the National Ballet of Canada’s Choreographic Workshop, Brent has shown his passion for the entire process of dance, from training and creation to performance and production. Brent currently holds the position of Balletmeister which encompasses being a rehearsal director, choreographic assistant, coach and teacher at the Ballett am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Claresta Alim
Head Department of Marlupi Dance Academy (Full-Time program) and Director of Performing Art
International judge and ballet teacher. Ms Claresta started her training at Marlupi Dance Academy (MDA), she joined Beijing Dance Academy in 2008, at the same time she received a scholarship from Joffrey Ballet School and was also accepted to American Ballet Theatre Summer Session in the USA.
She began her professional career with Washington Ballet School and Art Ballet Theatre of Florida. During the time she has performed in many roles including Issaev's Harlequinade, Fairy Doll, Le Corsaire, Raymonda, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Little Mermaid in Ballet, Shostakovich (3 Movements), Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin and Edgar Anindo's Fragmentos.
Ms Claresta has groomed many students to international recognition, including being the first Indonesian to be invited to Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and winning GOLD MEDAL at the YAGP New York Finals.
Her students have not only won numerous awards in international competitions but also received scholarships to the Royal Ballet School, The Australian Ballet School (full scholarship for the year programme), Princesse Grace Dance Academy, Houston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Universal Ballet, The Rock School, etc.
Ms Claresta is also a well-known international ballet teacher, she has been invited to teach Master classes in the United States, Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Many students from all over the world also came and took classes with Ms Claresta and benefited greatly from her coaching.
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Lisa Macuja Elizalde
The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet, School Directress
Lisa Macuja Elizalde – Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Manila, a prima ballerina, is one of the most recognizable and iconic figures in the Philippine classical ballet landscape. Graduating at the top of her class from the prestigious school in 1984, now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Lisa debuted as principal ballerina in The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Giselle with the Kirov Ballet. Upon her return to Manila, she was the first artist-in-residence of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and performed as guest artist with Ballet Philippines until 1988 when she became a principal dancer of the Philippine Ballet Theatre.
In 1995, she established Ballet Manilla, and performing and leading the company’s performance all over the world. She formally retired from full length dancing in 2014 but makes periodic appearances in productions of Ballet Manila. Lisa is also the founder and directress of the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet, where she continues to train students in the Russian Vaganova method.
Lisa is frequently invited to conduct master classes outside of the Philippines – Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, United States of America, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom. She is also in the jury panel for many international ballet comptitions both in the Philippines and in the Asian Region.
Dr Filomar Cortezano Tariao
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Senior Lecturer
Dr Filomar, is a Senior Lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and is also working in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE), teaching Dance Safety courses for continuing education.
Dr Filomar has choreographed and directed many works. One of his works won the Best Production for Life Theatre Awards. His works have been presented across many international platforms, including the opening piece for the 8th ASEAN Paragames, which was hailed as a "beautiful performance" by The London Times. He wrote about it in Dance: Access and Inclusion. He has also created for the Esplanade Dans Festival, La-in, for NAFA’s 80th anniversary in Crossings 2018.
Dr Filomar represented NAFA at the Blackboard Asia 2015 conference and World Dance Alliance in Korea. He has also been performing professionally for over 20 years. He has taught for the Vermont International Dance Festival. He is a fully-certified Stott Pilates instructor and a full-scholar alumnus of Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
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Jason Mabana
Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, rehearsal and production director
Jason Mabana is an international dance teacher and choreographer based in London. He holds a Ba (hons) degree from the Rambert School and a postgraduate Diploma from The Place.
Jason is the rehearsal and production director at the Rambert School and teaches Contemporary at both London Contemporary Dance School and The Royal Ballet School, where he shares his expertise and knowledge with the next generation of dancers.
In addition to his teaching commitments, Jason has created works for numerous renowned dance companies, schools and events, including Black Box Dance Company, Conny Janssen Danst, FDR, Hamburg Contemporary Company, Balletboyz, SpringBoard, Royal Ballet School, Stella McCartney, De Beers and more. His works have been nominated for Best Choreography in Denmark, the Asian Arts Awards, and the Amnesty International Freedom of Speech Awards, which is a testament to his creativity and talent.
As a sought-after guest teacher at conservatoires worldwide, he has taught at The University of the Arts in Amsterdam, University of Stavanger, and Hamburg Contemporary Dance School. Jason’s unique style of teaching comes from the fusion of contemporary and hip hop,
Throughout his career, Jason has also been a highly skilled dancer, performing with world-renowned dance companies such as Akram Khan Company, Wayne McGregor, Shobana Jeyasingh, and Candoco Dance Company. His experience as a performer has given him a deep understanding of the art of dance and has allowed him to bring that knowledge to his teaching and choreography.
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Jeffrey Tan
Regional Director of Singapore Dance Alliance
Founder / Artistic Director of the National Contemporary Ballet
Jeffrey is one of Singapore's most prolific and established dancers, choreographers, educators and Creative/Show Directors. Formerly a principal dancer and assistant ballet master with Singapore Ballet (former Singapore Dance Theatre). After retiring as a dancer, he took the role of the Head of Dance at the Singapore Chinese Girls' School. In 2013, he was the Principal of the Singapore Ballet Academy. A recipient of the Singapore Young Artist Award (Excellence in Dance) 2000.
He is currently the Artistic Director/Founders of the National Contemporary Ballet. Recently, he was appointed by Singapore Dance Alliance as their Regional Director.
As a dance educator; He believes in creating a conducive and nurturing environment for creativity and artistic development for all.
He is also Dance Jury for the Taiwan Grand Prix IBC, Malaysia International Ballet Grand Prix (MIBGP), Bandung International Dance Competition (BIDC), National Dance Workshop and Competition (NADWORC) Indonesia, and Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) and Canaan Dance International Ballet Competition.
Melissa Quek
LASALLE College of the Arts, Head of the School of Dance & Theatre
Melissa is Head of the School of Dance & Theatre at LASALLE College of the Arts and the Programme Leader for the Diploma in Dance.
She is also a choreographer, performer and educator whose choreographic interest lies in investigating the body-subject. Her works and creative process attempt to touch on questions of agency, materiality and perception to create a visceral experience for the audience.
Melissa enjoys multi-disciplinary collaborative works, Site based work such as site-specific outdoor performance Tracing the City (2016) and cause based performances and workshops such as Stride with Pride, a performance aimed at increasing respect for wheelchair users. She founded The Kueh Tutus (a collective dedicated to creating dance for young audiences) and has created several works that have been presented at The Artground, toured to regional libraries and appeared in the Esplanade’s Festivals Octoburst! and March On.
Melissa has managed and designed various MOE-NAC Dance related initiatives such as the Dance Talent Development Programme, and Strategic Partnership CCA (Ethnic Dance). She also mentors the choreographic work of young and emerging artists through institutions such as *SCAPE and occasionally writes dance reviews, articles and edu-packs to make contemporary dance more accessible.
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Dr Peter Gn
Dance Educator and Choreographer
An experienced choreographer, dance educator and presenter, Peter trained in Dance and Choreography at the Victorian College of the Arts (Australia), Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (UK) (Trinity Laban Scholarship Awardee) and the University of Roehampton (UK) (Overseas Merit Scholarship Awardee).
Peter’s body of choreographic work for theatres, sports arenas and national events has moved between spectacle and interdisciplinary art. An advocate of synergistic collaborations between dance and disciplines such as film and music, Peter’s creative methodology is anchored in Release Technique and Improvisation. He has led performance projects, seminars and workshops for professional dancers, dance teachers and students in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. He has spoken at the National Dance Education Organisation Conference (Minneapolis and Los Angeles), World Dance Alliance Global Dance Summit (Canada), World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Conference (South Korea and Taiwan), and the Australian Youth Dance Festival (Melbourne). In 2022, he was panel moderator and speaker at the SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival.
In Singapore, Peter has presented dance in projects under the Ministry of Education and various Institutes of Higher Learning. He was Conference Panel Speaker at the IBGPS (2019 and 2021), and jury member for a range of dance competitions including YAF (2020 & 2021).
Peter holds a doctorate in Dance and masters degrees in both Choreography and Dance Studies. He founded The Presence Project, a project-based contemporary dance ensemble that performs interdisciplinary work, and advocates collaborative dance-making.
Resmi Malko
Central School of Ballet UK, Ballet Tutor
Resmi Malko received his ballet training at the Academy of Ballet in Tirana, Albania. Upon completion of his training in 1985, he joined the National Opera Ballet Theatre in Tirana and was promoted to Principal Dancer within 5 years. He continued his career there for the next 15 years, performing in countries including Italy, France, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, USA and Canada.
Resmi then immigrated to North America and performed with the USA Ballet and the Canadian company, Ballet Jorgen. In 2003 Resmi graduated with Distinction from the Teacher Training Program for professional dancers at Canada's National Ballet School and joined the artistic teaching staff later that year. After 10 years with the NBS, Resmi joined the Central School of Ballet in London.
Students Resmi has coached have competed in international ballet competitions such as, the Prix de Lausanne and Genée International Competition where a student for the first time in the competition's history won all three major gold medals. Choreographically, Resmi has staged classical repertoire for the Central School of Ballet’s End of Year performances and for the touring company, Ballet Central. Additionally, Resmi often returns to coach at the National Opera Ballet Theatre, Tirana.
Slava Tutukin
Tanya Pearson Academy, Australia, Managing Director
After the graduation from the Vaganova Ballet Academy, Russia in 2008, Slava Tutukin worked as a soloist and principal artist at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Aalto-Theater Essen, Theater Magdeburg, Theater Dortmund in Germany, as well as other international companies.
After his dancing career, Slava was appointed as the Deputy Artistic Director and Manager of the Dortmund Ballet and the NRW State Youth Company, Germany. Since his tenure, he has elevated the Company to new heights by creating a platform with a world-class performance repertoire from internationally acclaimed choreographers. He has also organised various International Galas, with performances of Principal Artists from leading companies all around the world.
Besides that, Slava represented the dance profession as an expert for the European Union - Executive Agency for Education, Audio-visual and Culture (EACEA), wherein he evaluated dance-related projects and provided his expertise regarding EU budget allocation. Slava also worked as a Board Member of the Youth Ballet WA Inc., Perth, Western Australia; a Committee Member of the State NRW, Germany, German National Foundation for the Artists Support; and he is a Deputy Chairman and a Representative of the profession “Dance” at the GDBA (German Trade Union for Artists).
In 2022, Slava was appointed as Managing Director of the Tanya Pearson Academy in Sydney Australia.
Susan Yeung, How Wah
School of Dance at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Associate Dean and Senior Lecturer
Susan received the City Contemporary Dance Company Prize in Hong Kong and began her career as a professional performer with Ecnad Project in Singapore in 2002. In 2005, as the independent producer of COLLECTIVE mayhem, she toured her work internationally. She is also the choreographer for Xsystem Entertainment from 2007 to 2010.
Recently, Susan founded Creative X Network, collaborates across disciplines and initiated the project Reimagining Residency in 2021 with international dance artists and Singapore’s community service providers.
From 2003 to 2022, Susan served as artistic director, mentor, and artistic curator for more than 60 dance productions and events. She also regularly served as an assessor, adjudicator, facilitator, mentor, and panel speaker for professional companies, institutes, universities, and arts festivals, including the National Arts Council, Ministry of Education, and *Scape.
Susan's works have been presented and reviewed by press and media internationally, including CNN Travel, Straits Time and Lianhe Zaobao. Her achievements as a dance artist were featured in the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in 2010.
Prior to her experience at NAFA, she was the Programme Coordinator for BA(Hons), Lecturer and Lecturer-in-charge of dance programmes at LASALLE College of the Arts. She also served as the artistic and rehearsal director, for LASALLE’s major dance productions and international performances from 2010 to 2019 and as a choreographer and artistic curator for festivals and touring works. She joined Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts as the Programme Leader in 2021 and is currently the Associate Dean of School of Dance.