At Hong Kong Academy, all students are encouraged to get involved in the performing arts – and there are plenty of opportunities for them to shine. We hear more from JEAN MORRIS, the director of the programme at HKA.
Where are you from originally? Anything you miss about it?
I’m from New Zealand and there’s a lot I miss! But my husband and I were keen to teach internationally, and we’ve now had 20 years in different places – we started in Indonesia, where we had two children, then we moved to Laos. Then came South America – Argentina and Ecuador – and before Hong Kong we were in Kazakhstan.
We really appreciate New Zealand every time we’re back. There are so many things you take for granted; it’s very progressive in lots of ways – we appreciate our Māori culture and language. I think sometimes you don’t miss something until you go away.
Our children sound like Kiwis and look like Kiwis, but they are third culture kids. My son summed it up best: he said that his head is in New Zealand and his heart is in Argentina! (He did seven years of growing up in Argentina, speaking Spanish as a second language.)
When I saw the Hong Kong Academy position come up, I felt it was like my dream job, especially as HKA’s mission is grounded in inclusion, which matches my teaching philosophy. It’s been fantastic – we couldn’t get better than being in Hong Kong and in Sai Kung.
What’s your background in education and performing arts?
My mother was a pianist for ballet classes, so I started with ballet at age four, then did piano and singing lessons and became a musical theatre kid. From the age of about seven, I was going in shows and competitions. I studied music and drama both at school and university, and also did my education degree. I initially taught in primary schools, then a middle school, and I was also asked by one school community to start my own dancing school. Among my career highlights was being the director and choreographer of 21 productions in Buenos Aires.
Give us an overview of the performing arts at Hong Kong Academy.
Our performing arts programme is amazingly inclusive. We truly believe in offering as many opportunities as we can for students all the way throughout the school. Every student has the chance to be on stage.
We also strive to make students feel safe and comfortable in that environment. And you end up finding those who didn’t even know they were going to be great at singing or performing, but they are. One mother said to me, “I didn’t realise my child could sing!” It doesn’t matter whether or not that person will go on in life and be a performer. We’re giving them the confidence to get up in front of other people – something they’ll have to do in a job interview, for example, or when they’re pitching ideas to a team.
Community and belonging are key aspects of our programme too. I believe that everybody deserves the opportunity to perform, and theatre and performance create a sense of community for students. I’ve seen students come from outside performing arts circles and all of a sudden they find their place, whether it be on the stage, backstage, or in the tech box helping with lighting and sound; and they find themselves part of a team, working together towards a common goal. I think that’s where the magic lies, really.
What about the campus facilities?
We have a beautiful 350-seat theatre with seats that can collapse and a sunken orchestra pit, allowing the space to be used in many ways. It can also be used as a community theatre. Some groups have booked the space for external events and we invite the Sai Kung community to as many performances as we can.
We also have a studio black box theatre, a dance room, two music spaces, and lots of practice areas as well.
The campus also has other areas where we can perform. For instance, there’s a beautiful area on the third-floor football pitch where we sometimes have outdoor concerts; and there’s the art space, too. So we’re very well equipped.
We’re also extremely well resourced when it comes to musical technology and musical instruments. I know schools that have bigger orchestral programmes but they don’t have the range or number of instruments. HKA has everything from double basses and up, and the children have the opportunity to try them all to find the one they most enjoy. Students play instruments as part of the music curriculum as well as being offered additional instrumental lessons.
What have been some recent memorable performances at Hong Kong Academy?
When I first arrived here it was the first year back in full performance mode post-COVID, and we put on a full-length musical for Grades 3 through 5, Dig It, and then we did The Addams Family with our high school students. Last year all primary school students were involved in two junior musicals, and in secondary school our production of Grease had more than double the number of children participating compared to the previous year. This year, our upper primary students have already presented Peter Pan and we’re currently working on Shrek in the high school, which will be performed at the end of March.
We try to give a taste of performing to as many students as possible; so, in Peter Pan there were 60 speaking parts. The bigger lead roles were mainly from Grade 5 – it’s their time to shine! – but the Grade 4s and 3s still get the full theatre experience.
What are some of the key aspects of a successful performing arts programme at a school?
I think for any performing arts programme you have to have a great team. We’re a small team but we’re very passionate about what we do, and we give it 110 percent.
We also work in conjunction with the Co-curricular department to try to balance after-school activities and sports team training times. We believe it’s important for students to be able to do both; for example, I work with the Athletics Director to find out when the volleyball team is training and then I’ll structure our rehearsals around when students might have volleyball commitments. This is especially important in a small school where we have multi-talented students – the more we can work together to reduce the stress on their schedules the better. We also work closely with the Visual Arts department and have almost as many students involved in making sets, costumes and props as we do on stage!
I’ve touched on how inclusive our programme is already, but it’s also worth noting how important student choice is in what we’re doing at Hong Kong Academy. In our first semester, for example, we hold our annual RISE concert, which raises awareness and funds for refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong. It started six years ago as a student initiative and remains a student-run event. There are performances from across the community, including our choirs, and individual and small group acts from primary students as well as from our MYP and DP musicians and some parents. There’s also a live auction selling student and community artworks.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Part of the magic of Sai Kung is how you can embrace nature; I like walking, going out on boats, doing yoga. I walk to school and home every day. I also play the piano for relaxation.
Hong Kong Academy is at 33 Wai Man Road, Sai Kung, New Territories.
2655 1111 | hkacademy.edu.hk
This article on the performing arts at Hong Kong Academy first appeared in the March 2025 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!
