Frances Chung is a Canadian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

. She is currently a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

at the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

Early life

Chung was born in Vancouver and is of Chinese descent. Her father worked for an electronic company, her mother was a cook, and her sister works in finance. She started ballet and playing the piano when she was five, at a community centre near her home. She attended

Magee Secondary School Magee Secondary School is a public secondary school on West 49th Avenue, Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most p ...

and trained at

Goh Ballet Academy Goh Ballet Academy is a school of classical ballet in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1978 by Chan-hon Goh and Lin Yee Goh. History The Goh Ballet Academy was founded in 1978 by Choo Chiat Goh and Lin Yee Goh after they immigrated to Vanco ...

. Though most of Chung's teachers are Chinese, she was trained in multiple dance styles, such as French, Russian and English. She also did contemporary, jazz, and Asian dance. However, she did not have any American training. When she was 16, she attended a summer intensives at

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

, she was then asked to join the studio company, but her mother insisted she graduate high school.

Career

In 2001, after she finished high school, Chung joined the San Francisco Ballet, at the age of 17. Chung stated that part of the reason she joined the company was because she wanted to stay on the west coast. She was named soloist in 2005 and principal dancer in 2009. Chung has danced roles such as Odette/Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', Princess Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' and the title role in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. She has participated in San Francisco Ballet's co-production with other companies, such as a stepsister in ''Cinderella'' with

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

and Elizabeth Lavenza in ''Frankenstein'' with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

. She has also originated roles such as in

Stanton Welch Stanton De Burgh Welch (born 1969) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet. Early life Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch, two prominent Australian ...

's ''Bespoke'' and

Dwight Rhoden Dwight Rhoden is an American choreographer and artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet who began dancing at the age of 17 while studying acting. He has performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz de Montréa ...

's ''LET'S BEGIN AT THE END''. Outside of San Francisco Ballet, Chung has danced in galas in Canada, United States, Mexico, Germany, Australia, France and Italy. In 2018, she danced in Welch's ''Swan Lake'', with

Houston Ballet Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year. History Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967) Houston dev ...

Selected repertoire

Chung's repertoire with the San Francisco Ballet includes:

Awards

*Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance (Individual) for San Francisco Ballet's 2013 Repertory Season. *Finalist at the Helsinki International Competition, 2001. *Awarded silver medal (no gold medal awarded) at the Adeline Genée Awards, London, 2000. *Finalist and prizewinner at the

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...

, 2000. *3rd place with partner Nozomi Haga at the Japan National Pas de Deux Competition, 1999.

Personal life

Chung is married. The couple welcomed a son in 2019.

References

External links

Frances Chung
- San Francisco Ballet profile
Frances Chung: Artist SpotlightFrances Chung on ''The Nutcracker''Frances Chung in ''LET'S BEGIN AT THE END''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Frances 1980s births Living people Canadian ballerinas San Francisco Ballet principal dancers People from Vancouver Canadian female dancers 21st-century ballet dancers Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian people of Chinese descent