Bio

photo by Jesse Clockwork

Choreographer, Dancer and Performer

Abby Man-Yee Chan

Abby is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a dancer with the Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company from 1991 to 1998.  She is constantly active in the dance community promoting arts culture. Early in 1993, she jointly founded the dance group “Danseomanie” which focused on introducing dance to teenagers and the general public. In 1997, she co-founded the duet company “Mcmuimui Dansemble” with Yeung Wai Mei. Their highly acclaimed work has toured New York, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore & Taiwan.

Abby was a Lee Hysan Foundation fellowship recipient of the Asian Cultural Council in 1995. This gave her an opportunity to present her work in New York and expand the horizons in her dance career. In addition to performing in Hong Kong, Abby has performed for many internationally renowned choreographers and companies, including Australian dance company “Expressions” (1998), the New York based company “Bill Young and Dancers” (1999), “ Sally Silvers & Dancers (2004) and “Pele Bauch Performance” (2006-07).

Abby has also been active participating in the Hong Kong Arts Festival’s productions as performer and choreographer: 2001 The Brave New World of Suzie Wong (Lead performer); 2002 The Untouchable Sky (Movement Director), 2003 Rite of Spring ( Solo performer); 2004 The Bad, the Good , the Scarlet O’Hara (Choreographer, performer & singer); 2004 B.O.B.* (Guest performer); 2007 My Life as a Dancer (Choreographer & performer).

Her choreographic work includes “Disclosure” & “ Pipe Dream”, both commissioned by the City Contemporary Dance Company.  Her solo work “Spectrum” has toured with the Little Asia Dance Exchange Network in Taipei, Sydney, Hong Kong, Seoul  & Tokyo. In New York, her work has shown in some of the most compelling performance venues  including the Mulberry Street Theater, the Joyce SoHo, the Chashama’s OASIS Festival, 92nd St.Y, Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX), the Chen Dance Center, and The La Mama etc..

Besides dance and choreography, Abby was also the project coordinator for the Hong Kong Dance Alliances dance exchange program from 2001-2006. This program has successfully brought  thirteen teachers/ performing artists from United State to Hong Kong. The final production “Dance Wide HKNY” brought two groups of excellent individual dancers/choreographers from both sides of the world to collaborate a master piece which showcased in New York and Hong Kong. This production was awarded the Hong Kong Dance Award in 2006.

in 2008 -09, a collaboration between Abby Chan and a Brazilian Choreographer Otávio Bastos  in São Paulo – Hong Kong Artist Residency Project. The work “When mr. Bastos meet ms. Chan” has been shown at Galeria Olido in São Paulo , and the Hong Kong Fringe City Festival.

Abby received the Hong Kong Dance Award in 2003 for her choreography (Pipe Dream), 2004 for performance (Yuri Ng’s Rite of Spring), and 2006 for the production of Mcmuimui Dansemble (Love in a Doggy Bag) and the Cultural Dance Exchange project (DanceWide HK/NY) . In addition to dance, Chan is thrilled to have collaborated and performed with Hong Kong’s active theater companies – the Theatre Ensemble, Shu Ning Presentation Unit and Trinity Theatre Company these past few years which showcased her versatility in the performing arts.

Abby was included in the Hong Kong Dance Hall of Fame in 2003.

She is currently lives in NY and works in both New York and Hong Kong.