CollabAsia Project by HKAPA and SKKU

/ All Programme / CollabAsia Project by HKAPA and SKKU

/ All Programme / CollabAsia Project by HKAPA and SKKU

Date & Time

Showcase:
2025.9.30-10.1 (Tue-Wed)
8pm
Approx. 60 minutes without intermission

Outdoor performance:
2025.10.3-4 (Fri-Sat)
2pm, 4pm
Approx. 40 minutes without intermission

Venue

Showcase: Sungkyunkwan University, Business Administration Building, Sungkyun Gallery (Humanities and Social Sciences Campus)

Outdoor Performance: Hongdae Red Road R6

Price

Free Admission

Programme
Overview
Arts Group
Introduction
Cast & Key Artistic
Personnel
Fringe Activity

DANCE

The CollabAsia Project is an international dance exchange programme that brings together young artists from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) to foster cultural exchange between Hong Kong and Seoul. Dancers from diverse disciplines—including ballet, Chinese dance, Korean dance, and contemporary dance—come together to focus on contemporary dance and choreographic practice, while also building networks and developing their artistic identities.

During the two-week programme, 15 students from HKAPA and 12 from SKKU will collaborate on a new work co-choreographed by Leila McMillan and Na-ye Kim. This piece has been presented as an outreach performance at the SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Workshop Festival and Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul. The project will also include a public seminar at SKKU to promote deeper intercultural dialogue and understanding.

Co-presented by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Sungkyunkwan University

Sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China

Seminar

Date: 2025.10.2 (Thursday)
Time: 10:00a.m -12:00pm
Venue: Sungkyunkwan University, Suseon Hall, Annex Room 62202, Studio 2 (Humanities and Social Sciences Campus)
Admission fee: Free Admission and open to public
Theme: A seminar engaging students and representatives from HKAPA and SKKU, in discussions on intercultural exchange through choreography.

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), established in 1984, is a world-leading higher education institution for the performing arts. It provides professionally-oriented undergraduate education and postgraduate studies in Chinese Opera, Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Its educational philosophy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with an emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions, and interdisciplinary learning. In the QS University Rankings announced in 2025, the Academy ranks in the global top 20 for Performing Arts education.

The Academy has been granted Programme Area Accreditation status by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications to awards its own Certificates, Diplomas, Bachelor’s (Honours) Degrees and Master’s Degrees. In the past four decades, more than 10,000 artists have graduated from the Academy, going on to become performing artists, creative arts practitioners, filmmakers, educators and cultural leaders with global impact – many have won international awards and shone in their respective artistic fields.

Besides the main campus in Wanchai, Béthanie, the Academy’s Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam, houses educational facilities for the School of Film and Television.

https://www.hkapa.edu/dance

Department of Dance, Sungkyunkwan University
The Department of Dance at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), established in 1989 within the College of Art, is a leading academic institution in Korea dedicated to nurturing the next generation of dance professionals. It offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate programs in Ballet, Contemporary Dance, and Korean Traditional Dance, combining rigorous practical training with academic inquiry to foster artistic excellence, technical mastery, and critical thinking.

The Department is part of SKKU’s College of Art, which supports creative and interdisciplinary education across fields such as Fine Arts, Design, Theatre, Fashion, and Film, encouraging artistic innovation grounded in both Korean heritage and global perspectives. As part of SKKU, Korea’s oldest university founded in 1398 and consistently ranked among Asia’s top research institutions, the Department of Dance benefits from a dynamic academic environment rooted in tradition, creativity, and international engagement. Graduates go on to build impactful careers as dancers, choreographers, educators, scholars, and cultural leaders, contributing to the advancement of the performing arts in Korea and around the world.

https://dance.skku.edu

Na-ye Kim (Choreographer)

Na-ye Kim is a choreographer, educator, and performer from Seoul, Korea. She holds a BA in Dance Education from Durham University, an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and a PhD in Dance Education from Seoul National University. She has performed internationally with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and worked with leading choreographers including Gerald Casel, Aszure Barton, and Kyle Abraham. From 2016 to 2019, she was a full-time lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She is currently Associate Professor of Contemporary Dance at Sungkyunkwan University and Artistic Director of her project-based company, NKMC. Founded in 2014, NKMC engages with artists across disciplines, exploring the everyday spaces we inhabit and the mundane rhythms of life by examining human relationships through collaborative, multidisciplinary performance.

Leila McMillan (Choreographer)

Originally from Southern California, Leila McMillan is a London based choreographer, teacher and dancer. She is currently Head of Contemporary Dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), teaching Contemporary Dance technique, Improvisation, Dance Composition, Choreography and Repertory courses. In 2017, she was appointed Artist-in-Residence at HKAPA and created 3 fingers at arm’s length for the School which was nominated for ‘Outstanding Choreography’ by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance Awards 2018 and collaborative film project Hood set within the neighbourhoods of Hong Kong.

Dances (HKAPA):
Calysta Clara Neisha
Chen Ka Hei
Lai Lok Yan
Lam Tsz Ying
Leung Hei Tung
Leung Wai Yin
Liu Zhi
Tam Ashley Tsz Yiu
Tang Sze Wai Sara
Wan Chun Hei
Wong Cheuk Lam
WONG Lai Kei Kristy
Xiong Yilin
Yip Sze Wai
Zhao Yuefan

Dances (SKKU):
Ko Nayoung
Kim Minjae
Kim Minchae
Noh Eunhee
Mun Jeongyeon
Park Junhan
Oh Hyeonjun
Yoon Subin
Cho Ayoung
Choi Semin
Choi Yunsu
Hong Eunah

HKW

CollabAsia Project by HKAPA and SKKU