About Us - Founder & Artistic Director
Mr. Henry Ng Chay Kuang is currently the Founder and Artistic Director of Dance Horizon Troupe (Singapore). He is also the Principal of the troupe’s training programmes. He is actively involved in choreographing and teaching dance. In addition, he has several commitments such as being the choreographer and Artistic Advisor for a temple in Indonesia. Mr. Ng is a dance teacher for the Ministry of Education as well.
Mr. Ng’s rich dance experience began in 1976, when he was a dancer in the National Dance Company. He had, at that point of time, represented Singapore to perform in the Asian Arts Festival in various countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.
Seven years of being a professional dancer gave him many opportunities to develop his dance skills and techniques. Mr. Ng stepped down as a dancer in 1983 and embarked on another journey to become a full time choreographer. He tirelessly took up many dance courses in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Upon returning to Singapore, he decided to retire from the stage front and re-direct his goals to becoming a choreographer.
Undoubtedly, versatility, creativity and innovativeness are reflected in many pieces of Mr. Ng’s choreography. He gathers his inspirations from his personal feelings and his works are associated with nature, most of the time. They depict exuberance, vitality and youth. Meticulous effort can be seen in Mr. Ng’s pursuit for his passion and dreams. He continues to enroll in courses to upgrade his own choreography knowledge and skills. As such, he has been to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Australia to research on the different lifestyles and culture of each country, which in turn benefits his choreographies.
Presently, Mr. Ng’s works are not only being appreciated in Singapore, but also in other parts of the world. He has led several dance troupes to countries like China, Hong Kong, Macau, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Australia, Korea, etc. to participate in International Music and Dance Festivals, Asia Arts Festivals, etc. and cultural exchange programmes, for the purpose of exposing local choreographers to foreign countries so as to promote our local arts scene.
Mr. Ng had in the past traveled to Hong Kong and Malaysia to conduct dance training programmes and was, on several occasions, invited to be a judge for the dance competitions held there. He is also presently the dance grading examiner for Dance Ensemble Singapore.
By participating actively in many events like the Singapore Arts Festivals, Dance Festivals, Chinese Cultural Dance Festivals, Labour Day, Vesak Day, River “Hongbao”, Chingay, National Day Parade, National Day Rally, etc., Mr. Ng’s works are widely recognised. His generous contribution to the local arts scene eventually won him the “Most Talented Choreographer” award presented by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Dance Arts Association. To date, his works amount to approximately 300 pieces.
Mr. Ng has held several dance productions over the past few years, like Silhouette in Spring, Creative Dance, Ministry of Manpower’s Dance Drama, Creative Repertoire and Dance Montage, Dance? What Dance? and Oriental Epics, just to name a few. In addition, he has also conducted many dance camps and talks with the aim of promoting dance to youths in Singapore.
His ardent and ceaseless interest in pursuing dance has earned him many outstanding awards and he is now being seen as a model figure that contributes tremendously in the promotion of dance in the education arena. Till now, he has never stopped a single second in nurturing and training new young and talented dancers and choreographers.
Mr. Ng wishes to see an increasing number of dance enthusiasts who will help in promoting dance and cultivating a strong interest for dance as much as he does. As we move into the 21st century, a technologically advanced and competitive era, Mr. Ng hopes that the performing arts will bloom and flourish in the near future with the new launching of the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
