Frankie M Lai

Mr. Frankie-m Lai is the founder and principal of Ballet Étoile Academy in Shenzhen, China. He is the first male Chinese Examiner of the Royal Academy of Dance, as well as Practical Teaching Supervisor and Tutor. He is an adjudicator of the International Dance Organization. He is also the holder of Teaching Certificate of the Royal Academy of Dance and the Australian Teaching of Dance.

Frankie-m has taken on adjudication and judging roles in major international dance competitions since 2010, including The Hong Kong Ballet Group Stars Award, The Hong Kong Dance Contest, Hong Kong Challenge Cup International Competition , Hong Kong Dream Cup International Competition , Macau Challenge Cup International Competition and Korea IDO Competition.

Frankie-m was born in Hong Kong and began his ballet training at nine. He received scholarship from L’Alliance Française, which allowed him to complete his professional dance training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon France. He was awarded the prize of first runner-up at the Concours De Bordeaux France.

Frankie-m became a professional dancer at L’Opera Royal de Wallonie De Liège Belgium, and later joined the Théâtre du Capitol de Toulouse France.

Frankie-m returned to Hong Kong and joined the Hong Kong Ballet as Senior Soloist, and had danced most principal roles in major productions including the Prince in The Swan Lake; The Nutcracker; The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella; as Colas in La Fille Mal Gardée; as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet; as Mechanical Bird in The Emperor and Nightingale; as Guitarist in White Snake; as Pu Yi in The Last Emperor; as The Artist in Two Pigeons; as Kangaroo Rat and D.J. in Penguin Café, as main leader of Rite of Spring choreographed by Natalie Weir, as Peter in the world premiere of Susie Wong choreographed on Frankie-m by Stephen Jefferies.

Frankie-m joined the Suzhou Ballet Theatre at the Suzhou Science & Culture Art Centre in 2007 as Principal Dancer and Dancers’ Captain. Later he was promoted to the role of Assistant Ballet Master, and at the same time had been casted in the leading role of the world premiere of the production of Voyages as Gangster, choreographed specifically for him by Stephen Jefferies.