Photo provided by CCDC | Photo by Jefu Ha Studio
One of Hong Kong’s foremost choreographers, Helen joined City Contemporary Dance Company in 1979, and was the Artistic Director from 1985 to 1989 and Resident Choreographer from 1991 to 2011. Lai has choreographed for Hong Kong Dance Company, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and Hong Kong Ballet, as well as Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Guangdong Modern Dance Company and Singapore Dance Theatre (now Singapore Ballet). Major works include Nine Songs, The Rite of Spring, Plaza X, HerStory, Testimony and The Comedy of K. An eight-time winner of the Hong Kong Dance Awards, Lai was named Choreographer of the Year by the Hong Kong Artists’ Guild (1990) and received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Hong Kong Dance Alliance (2002), the Award for Arts Achievement (Dance), Hong Kong Arts Development Awards (2003) and an Outstanding Contribution in Arts, Hong Kong Arts Development Awards (2015) from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and an Honorary Fellowship (2004) and Honorary Doctorate (2021) from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
