Agnes Huang
Agnes Huang started her ballet training when she was seven. She obtained her Advanced Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance and Advanced Certificate from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in 1978 and 1983 respectively. Ms. Huang furthered her ballet studies in London and Cannes. She was highly commended in the Teacher’s Diploma Examination of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1985.
Since 2003, Ms. Huang has been appointed the Grades Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. She has examined in Thailand, Mexico, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, China, and Greece.
In 2007, Ms. Huang became a Tutor for the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies with the Royal Academy of Dance. In 2012, Ms. Huang is appointed as a tutor for the new Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses by RAD.
Ms. Huang believes in nurturing children. In her 44 years of teaching ballet, her students have performed with eminent arts organizations in Hong Kong. Ms. Huang’s many-faceted artistic talent is not confined to teaching alone. She choreographed ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in 1992 and 1996 for the Hong Kong Ballet Group to wide acclaim.
Gareth Belling
Gareth Belling is a choreographer, teacher and workshop facilitator. He danced with Queensland Ballet from 2002 to 2012, and performed as a freelance artist until 2019, most recently with Collusion in his ballets DESIRELINES in Guangzhou, and Turbine at Shanghai Dance Festival.
He is Resident Choreographer of Collusion Music and Dance Ensemble, having collaborated with this exciting group of chamber musicians on three evening-length works, and many shorter ballets since 2005. He has also created works for Queensland Ballet, Expressions Dance Company (now ADC), Ochre Contemporary Dance Company, Dancebourne Arts, Queensland University of Technology and WAAPA, and restaged his ballets on Queensland Ballet Academy. Along with Collusion, he was shortlisted for a 2016 Australian Dance Award for their chamber ballet DESIRELINES.
Gareth has received fellowships and grants from the Australia Council, Arts Queensland, Australia-China Council, was mentored by Nils Christe (JUMP Mentorship) and selected for the Swiss International Coaching Project for Choreographers (SiWiC).
He holds a Master of Fine Arts (Dance) from Queensland University of Technology, and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Queensland, researching arts funding and Australian dance history.
Gareth has taught ballet and contemporary dance at vocational studios and tertiary institutions since 2010. He is currently a faculty member at Melbourne Academy of the Arts specialising in contemporary dance.
Kristen Hockley
Kristen Hockley has loved to dance ever since she put on her first pair of ballet shoes at the age of four. During her final years of high school, she discovered a strong passion for musical theatre, teaching and choreography and has since turned that passion into her career.
Throughout her training, she performed in representative troupes, underwent RAD Ballet and Glen Wood Tap exams, and performed in the USA and Gold Coast, Australia.
Kristen’s performance credits include featured dancer roles in Priscilla to Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergere and Grease Fever with Davin Griffith-Jones Productions, roles in Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical, Aladdin and Lion King with City Kids Theatre, Footloose with Loud Theatre Company and Wizard of Oz with Spot On Productions.
Currently, Kristen is the Dance Development Officer for Sports Tots, a program she has developed, providing dance education to early learning centres. She also teaches multiple classes in a variety of genres at The McDonald College and The McDonald College After Hours program. Along with this, she is the assistant choreographer for City Kids Theatre and has worked on productions of Legally Blonde, Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and Frozen. Kristen co-choreographed Miranda Musical Society’s production of Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, and was the choreographer of Jersey Boys and Shrek for Engadine Musical Society.
In January, she was honoured to be on the faculty for International Summer School 2023, where she taught workshops in Jazz, Musical Theatre and Lyrical to aspiring dancers from across the globe.
Kristen is thrilled to be a part of this amazing dance event and is very grateful to have travelled from Sydney, Australia to be involved in this experience.